Some Call It Magic
by Chi.Z.B
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki discovers that he is a wizard at the age of sixteen. But he still has time to learn how to perfect his wizardry. Will Naruto graduate with his peers at Hogwarts? And who is this Uchiha Sasuke? AU. Warning: Lemon, Yaoi, BoyxBoy, SasuNaru
1. Bullies and Wizards

**I know, I know, I am in no position to upload a new fic, seeing as I am yet to complete the other one I'm doing, 'It Started With a Dress'. But really, I was re-reading the sixth book the other day while I had Naruto on the brain, and I just HAD to write a Yaoi fic. Seriously.**

**DO NOT READ IF NOT A FAN OF BOYXBOY RELATIONSHIPS! THIS IS GOING TO BE YAOI, PEOPLE!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, and I certainly do not own Harry Potter, in any way.**

* * *

According to the majority of Konoha High, Britain's very own school for the disgustingly snobby and the filthy rich, Uzumaki Naruto was gorgeous. With a wild, unruly shock of sunshine yellow that topped his head, a tan to die for, and deep, cerulean blue eyes to match, he was every girl's, and even a few guys', dream.

Naturally, a week after entering the school, which was two weeks after he had moved into London, a few of the rich and snobby guys decided they didn't want him around.

'Stupid Jiraiya,' muttered Naruto, glumly kicking a pebble down the sidewalk as he walked home from school. The annoyingly loud beeps and screeches of London traffic gradually died as he left the main part of town behind. 'Forces me to move to the middle of nowhere, and _then _forces that horrible school on me.'

The blonde was focused on the little rock that he was flicking with his foot as he brooded, so he didn't notice the person on the bench put down his paper as he passed by. He didn't notice the guy that was supposed to be buying sweets from the sweet vendor, stop buying sweets and follow him instead. He was completely oblivious to the guys that discreetly stepped out of a dark alleyway that was unfit for human habitation, and trail him.

He did notice, however, when, upon reaching a particularly desolate street in a quiet neighbourhood that was a five minute walk from his home, someone grabbed his arms and locked them behind him.

'What the-?'

A sheet—for all his lack of observational skills, Naruto did note that the sheet was light blue—was unceremoniously draped over him, covering his upper torso and effectively preventing him from getting so much as a glance at his attackers. Naruto immediately struggled and tried to yell, but the effort was futile. Someone punched him in the stomach to keep still, knocking out all his breath.

The sixteen-year-old felt someone tie the sheet securely behind him, just below his elbows, where he wouldn't be able to undo them. He was pushed to the ground, where he fell with a resounding _thud_.

'Oof!'

He immediately tried to sit up, but to no avail.

'Naruto, Naruto, Naruto,' said a soft, muffled voice. 'Oh, how the mighty have fallen.'

Naruto froze. He heard a few snickers around him, causing him to pale. Judging by the quiet laughs, he was surrounded. He couldn't escape!

'What do you want?' Naruto's voice came out hoarse – it didn't sound anything like his usual, cheerful, boisterous self.

Someone kicked—hard—at his stomach. Naruto gasped with pain, and instinctively brought his legs up, bending his knees to protect his body.

Real laughter, this time.

'You know, Naruto,' said that same voice conversationally, 'I don't really like it when guys—especially new guys—hit on my girl.'

'What are you talking about?'

Naruto instantly regretted talking, receiving another blow, to his back this time.

'Oh, don't pretend you don't know, Naruto.' Naruto heard the voice closer this time, meaning one thing – whoever it was that was talking, had bent down to knee level. 'My girlfriend—I'm sure you've heard of her, does the name Tohru ring a bell?—has told simply everyone at school that you've been asking her out a few times, even though I _know_,' the owner of the voice punched Naruto at the back of his head, 'you know she's going out with _me_.' On the word _me_, someone kicked Naruto's back again.

'I didn't,' Naruto said quickly, wanting to get the truth out before he got pummeled again, wanting to be anywhere but here. He dreaded the next painful blow that was sure to come. 'I haven't asked anyone out.' He braced himself, desperately wishing he was at home right now, probably out on his lawn, staring as the clouds passed by.

There was a pause. If anything, it sounded like it had gotten even quieter than before. Naruto couldn't hear the harsh breathing of the guys around him anymore. Had they believed that he was telling the truth?

Suddenly, Naruto was getting very, _very _wet. He knew it wasn't raining, because the last he saw of the sky, it was as clear a blue as ever...but it sure did feel like rain.

'Hey!' Naruto yelled. 'What the hell are you doing?'

_Oh god, what if they're PEEING on me? _Naruto thought desperately.

'Naruto?'

'Jiraiya!' Naruto cried out, relieved, as he recognized the familiar voice of his adoptive father. 'Help me out of this would you? Why are you here? Is there anyone near you?'

'No,' said Jiraiya, heaving the boy to his feet and pulling the sheet off him. 'What the hell happened to you?'

'Where am I?' Confused, Naruto glanced around him. He was on the front lawn of the new manor Jiraiya had purchased two weeks ago, lush green grass that seemed to cheer as they welcomed water from the sprinklers all around him. Cheery, bright purple and yellow flowers lined the marble pathway that led to the mansion. 'Where are those guys?'

'What guys?' Jiraiya asked. He had turned and was walking back inside. 'I came out a few seconds ago to make sure the new sprinklers were working, and I saw you sitting there with a blanket on you. You teens need to think of new trends,' he said disapprovingly.

Naruto wasn't thinking of trends. No, he was terrified.

_How did I get here?_

* * *

Doyle Sampson hurried through the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

'Excuse me! Pardon me! Coming through!' he called, pushing through the crowds of sweaty people that had been hauled in for questioning at the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office.

'Honestly, all this fuss for one little exploding tea cup,' he heard a hushed whisper, as he got trapped behind a particularly thick knot of people.

'Ah, but so many muggles were involved, the explosion was simply massive, didn't you hear?' he heard the soft reply. 'Apparently, they've had to send several muggles to the 'Artefact Accidents' wing at St. Mungo's, and _I _heard that the ministry sent at least _twenty _Obliviators.'

Doyle groaned. He simply _had _to get to Hermione. But these people wouldn't _move_!

'Oi! Sampson!'

Doyle glanced to his far right, where he caught sight of his good friend, Amanda Shacklebolt. She had noticed his harried look.

'Are you a wizard or not?' she yelled across the terrifyingly large crowd. 'Apparate to god-knows-where, if you're in such a hurry!'

Doyle could have smacked himself in the head. As it was, he had no time to do so. Giving her thumbs up to show he'd heard, he apparated right in front of his boss's door. Much as he would have liked to apparate right in, he knew she wouldn't tolerate insubordination.

'Hermione!' he called frantically through the door, rapping his knuckles hard against the wood. 'Hermione, are you in there?'

'Come in, Sampson,' he heard an amused voice call out. Without need for further invitation, Doyle pushed open the door and entered her office.

Vats of sunlight that shone through the huge, glinting windows greeted him. The round room was in impeccable condition, with bookshelves labelled alphabetically, and the occasional personal touch with photos of Hermione's family and friends – all hung on but a single wall, of course. The woman herself sat at a large, polished mahogany desk, fingers interlocked as she observed her subordinate. 

Neatly stacked papers lay in front of her, all waiting to be signed and approved. In front of her, a nameplate read:

_Mrs. Hermione Granger-Weasley  
__Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office_

'Now, what is all the fuss about, Sampson?' she asked pleasantly.

'Hermione,' he said quickly, not bothering with formalities—he had worked under her for several years now, and while she still referred to him by his last name, she did not mind in the least when he addressed her by her first name—and getting straight to the point, 'it turns out that we have an uneducated sixteen-year-old wizard on our hands.'

Hermione sat up straighter. 'What?'

'Miss Hannah Abbott was in the area when a young Mr. Naruto Uzumaki seemingly disappeared after being attacked by a bunch of...um, two-faced, no-good, rotten bullies,' said Doyle, referring to the notes that he conjured into his hands.

'Are we sure she saw this?' Hermione asked.

'Yes, she glanced out of her window. It happened right across the street, she said. According to her, she was just getting ready to leave the house and help, when he disappeared. According to my information, there are no witches or wizards in that area, save for Miss Abbott and her daughter.'

'So he managed to unknowingly violate the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy, then?'

'Precisely,' Doyle said. 'Unfortunately, he isn't registered in our database as a wizard, so he hasn't got the Trace on him. The only thing we can do to be sure of this is to get someone to read the memories of those boys involved, then get someone from the Obliviator Headquarters to go down there.'

'And the boy?'

'I've been meaning to ask you if you could ask Professor Tsunade to take him in at Hogwarts, even though he is just a year from coming of age.'

'You do realize he's going to find it hard to cope?' Hermione said concernedly. 'I mean, all wizards in his class, if he does end up going, will be well past their OWL level! And he'll have to take his NEWT's next year!'

'If you forgive the impudence, Hermione, remember that our job is to just clear up this mess with the bullies.'

Hermione glared at him.

Doyle smiled consolingly. He knew of Hermione's want to help all muggle-born witches and wizards. 'Speaking outside business issues, though, I've looked it up. It turns out that the boy is nothing short of a walking genius. Almost as good as the young Hyuugas, if he puts his mind to it!'

'I'll get Harry to call in a favour at the Department of Mysteries and get that boy a time-turner, then,' muttered Hermione, more to herself than her employee.

'So should I send a message to the school, or will you?'

'I'll do it,' announced Hermione, grabbing a quill and parchment. 'Go up to the Auror Office and tell Harry to get his arse down here, and bring Hedwig II with him.'

Doyle nodded and headed out.

'Oh, and Sampson?'

Doyle turned around.

'Thank you.'

'Anytime, Hermione. Anytime,' smiled Doyle, turning once more and leaving the office.

* * *

'Naruto! Get down here!' Naruto jerked awake as Jiraiya yelled up the mansion. The thing about large houses is, when someone yells, it ends up _echoing_. NOT something you want to wake up to in the morning.

Naruto groaned and turned over, hugging his pillow tighter to himself. He didn't want to get up today. After yesterday's episode, he had marched straight up to his room, where he proceeded to lock himself in and refuse to come out.

Well, refuse to come out until Jiraiya had called that dinner was ready. He'd come out then.

He was still puzzled, though, as to how he had gone from, in one minute, being the victim of a blanket party, to lying on his lawn in the next.

The only reasonable explanation that he could come up with was that the trauma of yesterday's beating had been so great, his mind had erased the memory to protect him from great psychological scarring.

Unfortunately, that story seemed too farfetched to be true, even to him.

'NARUTO!'

'Jeez, I'm coming, I'm coming,' Naruto mumbled, rolling out of the bed. Damn that Jiraiya.

Naruto plodded over to the bathroom attached to his room sleepily, scratching his head and yawning as he went. His toe stubbed against an action figure, causing him to yell and clutch it in pain. Bending down to hold it, though, resulted in him crashing head-first into the Spiderman dressing table Jiraiya had gotten him two Christmases ago.

Damn that Jiraiya. He couldn't even get _Christmas _right.

Naruto yelled, his voice riddled with pain. He quickly sat down on the dressing table stool and clutched his head, his abused toe forgotten.

'Naruto! Get down here, NOW!'

Naruto took a deep breath, blinking back the stinging in his eyes. Damn. It really _hurt_.

'I'm coming, you old pervert!' Naruto called down—albeit louder than necessary—as he got up moved out of his room. He bounded down the stairs – well, as much as one could bound on an injured toe, and came to a halt as he leapt over the last three steps, coming face-to-face with a tomato-red Jiraiya.

'Here,' Jiraiya said excitedly, thrusting something at Naruto.

Naruto inspected what was in his hands. It was a yellowed envelope, with a wax seal on the front and everything. The back of it read:

_Mr N. Uzumaki  
__The Room on the Second Floor  
__7 Blackberry Street  
__Bread Cove  
__Surrey_

Naruto ran his hands over the rough exterior of the envelope in awe, marvelling at the precision of the address. He was new to this town, with hardly any friends...certainly none he had brought home. So who would write this? He paused at the top edge of the envelope though, noticing something.

It had been opened.

Naruto shot a glare at his guardian, who shrugged. He had been watching Naruto with gleaming eyes, and continued to grin widely as the blonde slipped the old parchment out of the envelope. He rubbed his hands together in excitement, watching as Naruto's eyes skimmed across the contents of the letter.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Headmistress: Tsunade Sannin  
__(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc.,  
__Supreme Mugwump, 6XWinner of Wizard Weekly's Most  
__Charming Body Award, International Confed. Of Witches)_

_Dear Mr Uzumaki,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
__Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 30 July._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Shizune Yuki  
__Deputy Headmistress_

'Well?' Jiraiya said, thrilled.

'Well what?' Naruto asked, looking up, confused. He didn't quite understand the letter.

'Naruto, you're a wizard!' Jiraiya exclaimed, clapping his hands. 'It says so right here!' With that, Jiraiya thrust another envelope into the surprised arms of his ward.

This one had been opened as well.

'Can't you stop reading my letters?' Naruto asked irritably.

'Nope,' Jiraiya said cheerfully.

Rolling his eyes, Naruto glanced down and slid the new letter out of its confines. The envelope had been addressed the same way as the previous one, only this letter seemed to come from some sort of government.

_Dear Mr Uzumaki, _it read.

_Please note that you have been registered with the Ministry for Magic as an underage wizard. The Ministry has received word that you performed magic in the presence of muggles yesterday, around 2:27 p.m. You have therefore violated the __Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy.__ This letter is a warning. Please refrain from using magic until you have reached your new school._

_One Mr Itachi Uchiha shall be visiting you today, to explain the rules of the magical world. He will answer any questions you might have._

_One last thing, Mr Uzumaki:_

_The magical world is a secret._

_Hermione Granger-Weasley  
__Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office  
__Department of Magical Law Enforcement  
__Ministry for Magic_

Naruto stared at the letter for a long time, reading and re-reading it, to be sure of what his eyes saw, but his brain refused to believe. He looked up from the letter and glanced weakly at Jiraiya.

'It's a prank?' he asked hopefully.

'I should hope not!' Jiraiya said jovially. 'I always knew wizards existed. And now here's the proof! Isn't this great, Naruto?'

'How can you believe this?' Naruto asked, looking back down at the letter. 'I mean, it's _obviously _someone's idea of a joke.'

'Only thing we can do is wait for this Itachi fellow to show up then, right?'

'I suppose,' Naruto mumbled. He shook his head. 'These sorts of things are _not _meant for non-morning people.'

With that, Naruto pivoted on his heel and began the arduous climb back up the stairs, cursing the world all the way.

* * *

**A/N: I couldn't resist adding a few Harry Potter characters, even if I did initially want to just use the concept of Hogwarts. They will make appearances, albeit small ones. I've also made up a few characters, just for the sake of someone filling in the roles.**

**Please note that I will be updating this VERY slowly, because I have important exams this year, and SOMEBODY (cough, cough, mom) is confiscating my laptop. Plus, I have to complete my KakaXSaku fic.**

**Read and Review!**


	2. The Duck Butt

**Hello again!**

**Sob School started today. Looks like this will be my last post for the week. As you read this, you may be sure that my laptop is now in the possession of my father's locked office room. Sigh**

**I worked hard to put this up today, so I wouldn't leave you all hanging for the rest of the week or fortnight. So review, okay?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Harry Potter, or anything to do with them.**It was 3:45 in the afternoon, and Naruto was a nervous wreck.

* * *

The blonde was pacing the large living room, wringing his hands. His and Jiraiya's photographed faces beamed down at him from their frames all over the cheerfully white walls. Dark, polished wooden panels ran along the length of the room, and although they seemed to make the room look bigger, to Naruto, they were taunting. Sleek black leather couches were arranged in front of the fire place, one of which was occupied by a ridiculously composed Jiraiya.

Naruto just about snapped as he heard the rustle of the page Jiraiya calmly turned on the novel he was reading, oblivious to his ward's discomfort.

'Aren't you in the least bit nervous?' Naruto snapped, glaring daggers at the closet pervert.

'Why should I be?' Jiraiya asked nonchalantly, his eyes never leaving his book. 'He may never show up, you know.'

'Aren't you the one that believed in all this shit?' Naruto asked incredulously. '_You _made me change into this…this _penguin suit_!'

Indeed, Naruto was clad in a tux that seemed slightly large on him, although this fact wasn't very noticeable. Jiraiya had forced it on him at 2:00 that afternoon, after making sure that Naruto had brushed his teeth and washed his face.

'First impressions count,' Jiraiya said, completely unruffled by Naruto's distress.

Naruto growled at the back of his throat. 'Don't you think this is going over the top?' he hissed. 'I don't look like I'm too eager, is that it?'

Jiraiya pointedly ignored him.

Naruto gave up, throwing his hands into the air, frustrated. Instead, he opted for staring at the clock placed on the mantelpiece above the fireplace, willing for time to move faster.

Just as the clock struck four, the doorbell rang.

Naruto paled.

* * *

Itachi Uchiha was a sadistic bastard, according to everyone who knew him.

With long, dark black hair that fell in layers around his shoulders, and deep swirling pools of black for eyes, the man _looked _evil. His pale skin was a significant distinction to his hair, seemingly glowing in the contrast. He could only be defined as beautiful, although not quite Naruto's taste. Sure, Naruto swung both ways, but Uchiha Itachi was just plain _scary._

He proved just how sadistic he was as he watched, highly amused, a certain pale, blue-eyed blonde refusing to make eye-contact with him at all, and seemingly focused on a tiny black spot on the edge of the otherwise pristinely white carpet.

'So-' began Naruto, not looking up, 'So, I really am a- a wizard?'

'Yes.'

'And I _have _to go to this Hogwarts school, whether I like it or not?'

'Yes.'

'And _this_ old pervert,' Naruto nodded at Jiraiya, 'won't be allowed to come with me?'

'Yes.'

Naruto finally looked up. A number of emotions danced in his eyes. Awe, at finding out that he was a wizard. Relief, for quickly finding somewhere he would be accepted, and believed about, being a wizard. Sadness, as well as ecstasy, because he'd be leaving his perverted old mentor behind. And finally, irritation, because as of the last ten minutes, Itachi seemed to be capable of answering with but a single word.

'How do I know that when I get to King's Cross, where this supposed _muggle _barrier is,' said Naruto, narrowing his eyes, and practically choking on the ridiculous new word he now knew was meant for people without magical powers, 'I won't just crash into a stupid wall, and then someone comes out with a camera and tells me this is all a hoax?'

'You don't,' Itachi smirked.

Naruto glanced at Jiraiya, looking for his opinion. 'Well?'

Jiraiya looked blankly back at him. 'Well what?'

The blonde summoned all his patience in a bid to keep calm with the white-haired man. 'Well, what do you think of all this?' he said through gritted teeth.

'I think he's telling the truth,' Jiraiya said, glancing at the stoic Uchiha.

Naruto looked back down at the carpet. 'Oh.' The he glanced back up at the Uchiha. 'I don't suppose you could prove to me that you're a wizard?'

Itachi nodded. He slipped his hand into the briefcase he had brought along with him, and pulled out a long stick.

'This,' he said so quietly, Naruto and Jiraiya had to lean forward to hear, 'is my wand. When you're getting your school supplies, at Diagon Alley, like I said, you may get your own. Each witch or wizard has a different wand, depending on the witch or wizard themselves.'

'So can you do something with that?' Naruto asked, staring at the long piece of wood.

Itachi waved the wand, and the logs in the fireplace burst into flames.

'Wow!' Naruto exclaimed, finally getting excited. 'That was awesome! Do something else!'

'No, that will do for now,' Itachi said, putting his wand away. 'I have proved my point. Now, is there anything else you wish to know?'

Naruto mentally went over the list of things he had just been told. No muggles (he still had a slight tickle in his throat when he said that word) were to know of the existence of wizards. Naruto could get his school things at Diagon Alley, where he would exchange his—actually, Jiraiya's—money for wizard currency. The school train to this Hogwarts was on Platform 9¾(Itachi had explained carefully how exactly to get on to it), which would leave at precisely 11 o' clock from Kings Cross station.

He'd also learned that he was a special case. Almost all wizards, according to Itachi, had discovered their magical potential well before they turned eleven. And Naruto, having turned sixteen a few months back, had missed out on five years of wizard training. In order to keep up with his classes, he would be given a special device called a time-turner ('Which no one can know of,' Itachi had admonished). He would also be attending extra classes, which would detail all the educational material that was taught to all first years through to fifth years.

All in all, it sounded like a LOT of hard work.

Jiraiya piped up, nudging Naruto out of the way. 'How do we get to this Diagon Alley?'

Itachi nodded. 'I've been instructed to take you there myself. When do you think you'll be able to make the trip?'

'Now's good,' Jiraiya said.

Naruto shook his head at once. 'Jiraiya, no way. Not now.'

'Blondie has a point,' Itachi said, glancing down at the watch on his wrist and ignoring the look of outrage on Naruto's face. 'It's 6 o' clock. Too late if you want to get all your stuff in one go.'

'Do you think you can come tomorrow? It's Friday, so we'll be free all day,' Naruto said.

'I shall be here at 10 o'clock,' Itachi said, rising from the sofa. 'Be ready by then.'

Jiraiya rose as well, as did Naruto.

'Well, thank you for your time, Itachi,' Jiraiya said, shaking his hand. 'We'll see you tomorrow.'

'You shall.'

With that, Itachi let go of Jiraiya's hand, twisted on the spot, and…vanished.

If Naruto had had any doubts about this before, those doubts disappeared as Itachi did.

'Cool!'

* * *

'Naruto, are you ready yet?' Jiraiya poked his head around the door to Naruto's room. The boy was running a hand through his blonde spikes, in front of the dressing table mirror. He was dressed and ready in a pair of black jeans and form-fitting black shirt. 'What, no orange today?' Jiraiya teased, knowing the boy's love for the color.

'I don't know, I just figured all wizards wore black,' Naruto shrugged. 'Don't you think so?'

'No,' Jiraiya shook his head. 'Brat, dress how you normally do. We can worry about making impressions once we get a good look at these people.'

'You say that like they're – I mean, we're, abnormal or something,' Naruto frowned.

'Sorry. This'll just take some getting used to,' Jiraiya said, leaving the room. 'Anyway, Itachi will be here in a few minutes, so change into something normal quickly.'

Naruto nodded and pulled off his shirt as he hurried across the room to his cupboard. He knew he was intelligent, but he just _couldn't _keep his room neat. His room could literally be defined as a site where a laundry-bomb had exploded. His smaller possessions were strewn across the floor, along with several bits of clothing which had yet to meet the washing-machine. Which would explain why, about five minutes later when Jiraiya called up that Itachi had arrived, Naruto cursed, having not found a clean shirt in the pile at the foot of his wardrobe.

'Naruto!' Jiraiya called up again.

'Coming!' Naruto yelled, spotting an orange shirt and yanking it out of the debris. He hastily pulled it over his head and made a mad dash for the stairs.

Bounding down two steps at a time, Naruto caught sight of Itachi waiting patiently next to a beaming Jiraiya at the living room doorway.

'Hey there, Itachi!' Naruto called. Just then, he missed a step. He felt his stomach drop as he tripped.

'_Wingardium Leviosa!'_

Naruto felt himself stop just before his head connected with the stairs. Blinking, he slowly opened his eyes. He glanced down at himself.

'AWESOME!' he yelled, staring at himself in awe. He was flying!

Jiraiya was just as excited as Naruto, not seeming to care that the boy had almost severely injured himself. His eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets as he gaped at his levitating kid.

Itachi flicked the wand that he had out and pointing at Naruto. With a startled yell, Naruto landed—safely—in an undignified heap at the foot of the stairs.

'Let's do it again!' he cried in glee, leaping to his feet.

'No.'

'Aw, come on!'

'No.'

'You're no fun,' Naruto pouted, facing off and glaring at his right.

Where he was met with another Itachi.

'Argh!' he yelled in horror, backing away. He sent a quick glare in Itachi's—the Itachi that was next to Jiraiya—direction. 'Are you kidding me? Like one of you isn't enough?'

Itachi smirked. 'Honored as I am to know your opinion of me, Blondie, that isn't me.'

Naruto glanced back at the new Itachi. Come to think of it, if you looked closely, you could see that they weren't really the same, although stunningly alike. This new Itachi had the same deep pools for eyes, but they seemed softer. His skin was just as pale, but supple and younger, with practically none of the stress lines that framed the actual Itachi's face. The most distinguishing feature, though, was his hair. It wasn't long at all. Oh, no. No, this guy's hair was shaped like a-

'Duck's butt,' Naruto muttered, staring at the hair.

No one moved. Naruto could have sworn he heard Itachi suck in a breath in an attempt to control laughter. Hmm. He hadn't heard Itachi laugh yet. Wonder what that sounded like.

'Dobe.'

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. Dobe. Hmm, Jiraiya had called him that once. What had he said it had meant? Wasn't it…dead last?

'Teme!' Naruto suddenly said loudly, angrily pointing at the new guy. That, Jiraiya had told him, meant 'bastard'. 'Bastard, why are you insulting me?'

Itachi stepped in smoothly. 'Blondie, meet my younger, insignificant brother: Sasuke.'

Naruto didn't miss the glare Sasuke directed at his older brother.

'Why the hell did you bring him?' Naruto snapped at the older Uchiha.

'He needs to get his school supplies as well,' Itachi said. 'I thought I might as well kill two birds with one stone.'

Jiraiya stepped forward and gripped Naruto's shoulder tightly. Naruto flinched and slapped his hands away.

'Come on, brat. Be nice,' Jiraiya said, grinning in Sasuke's direction. He suddenly bent down and whispered so quietly that no one save Naruto could hear, 'Or else no ramen for dinner tonight.'

The effect was instantaneous. Naruto knew how hard it was to get his favorite dish here in Britain, so he never passed up a chance to get his hands on it.

Naruto beamed at Sasuke, flashing all his pearly whites. Sasuke was slightly surprised at the sudden change in attitude, but didn't let his impassive expression slip.

'Alright!' Naruto said cheerfully. 'How do we get there, then?'

Itachi strode forward. 'I'll need you all to hold on to me,' he said, distaste at having anyone touch him etched clearly on his face. 'I'm going to apparate.' Catching the looks of slight confusion on Naruto's and Jiraiya's faces, he added, 'It's when wizards disappear from one place and reappear in another place of choice.'

'Can't he appa… appa…appa-whatever by himself?' Naruto asked, nodding at Sasuke.

'He's underage,' Itachi said. 'One can't _apparate_,' he said, stressing the word for Naruto's benefit, 'until they're seventeen. Sasuke is sixteen.'

'So he'll be in _my _class?' Naruto asked, horrified. Jiraiya discreetly coughed. 'I mean…Great. He'll be in my class.'

'That, of course, will depend on what subjects you will be taking,' Itachi said. 'Sasuke wants to become an auror, of all things, so if you want to be something different when you graduate, you'll be taking different subjects.'

'What's an auror?' Naruto asked, curiously looking at Sasuke.

Sasuke stared back, his face expressionless.

'Aren't you going to say anything?' Naruto asked, irritated.

'Hn.'

'Oh, brilliant, it speaks,' Naruto said sarcastically. 'Apparently, all that comes out of it's mouth are insults and _Hn_'s.'

Jiraiya glared at the blonde. 'No ramen for you, kid,' he mouthed at Naruto, but to no effect, since Naruto was still glaring at the raven.

'An auror is a dark wizard catcher,' Itachi interrupted.

Naruto turned to him. 'Dark wizard?'

'Wizards gone bad,' Itachi said simply.

'Oh.'

'Well, time's wasting, we should get a move on,' Itachi said, glancing at his watch. 'We're already behind schedule by fifteen minutes.'

Sasuke strolled over to his brother and grabbed a piece of his coat. Naruto followed and did the same, but pointedly grabbed the other end. Jiraiya merely put a hand on his shoulder.

With a long-suffering look, Itachi twisted and, taking the three with him, vanished.

* * *

**What do you think? I'd love to know. Review, please!**

**Oh, and for those wondering about my other fic, no worries, I'll be working on and posting that chapter next time I gain access to my laptop. Which, hopefully, will be soon.**


	3. The Ice Princess and the Mongrel

**Sorry for the wait. I'm allowed to use the laptop on weekends only. And my weekends are _busy_. Anyway, thanks for hanging in there!**

**Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own Naruto OR Harry Potter.**

* * *

People bustled up and down the crowded streets of Diagon Alley, some shoving others out of the way to make the best of the summer sales. Merchants called out from stalls, promising that their various amulets and such would bring customers good luck, with a hundred percent money-back guarantee, while Fanny Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor was raking in the gold, with people stomping in with loaded shopping bags, demanding sundaes to relieve themselves of the heat.

In a nearby alleyway between two buildings, Itachi and his three companions appeared with a small _pop_, startling a dark green cat that was foraging in a trash can. Naruto quickly leaned against a wall and hugged his stomach, breathing hard, while Jiraiya fell to his knees and clutched his chest right above where his heart was. Itachi had just dusted himself off calmly, while Sasuke glanced after the yowling green blur that had zoomed out of the alleyway.

'I think I'm having a heart attack,' wheezed the white-haired old man.

'What _happened_?' Naruto gasped, breathing hard.

'Apparition does that. It feels like you're being squeezed down a narrow tube, but it's worse when there is more than one person during Side-Along Apparition,' Itachi dismissed. 'And you're not having a heart attack,' he added to Jiraiya.

Naruto glanced up to meet with a smirking Sasuke. 'What?' he snapped.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned away. Stupid dobe. He didn't want to be here. He sighed as he remembered how Itachi had dragged him along in the first place.

'_I'm home!' called Itachi, as he shut the door quietly. Slamming it shut, like he wanted to, would have caused an annoyingly loud echo to resound through the house._

'_Hn,' Sasuke said, moving up the stairs. He had just finished dinner, and wanted nothing more than to go up to his room, away from him moronic brother, and call it a night._

'_Sasuke, come here for a minute,' Itachi said. _

_Sasuke sighed. Remaining where he was on the 8__th__ step, he asked irritably, 'What?'_

'_We're going shopping tomorrow,' Itachi smiled, showing all his pearly whites. 'And we're taking a muggle-born with us. Be nice tomorrow, alright?'_

_Sasuke groaned. 'Why, pray tell, should _I _come along?'_

'_He's been accepted to Hogwarts,' Itachi said. 'I thought it would be best if he made a friend before he left. Besides,' he added, 'you'll need to get your school things as well.'_

'_You want me to accompany a first year?' Sasuke said, horrified. 'What are you, mad?'_

'_Sixth year, Sasuke,' Itachi corrected. 'He's your age.'_

'_So he transferred from somewhere?' Sasuke guessed. 'Don't tell me he's from Durmstrang?'_

'_Heavens, no,' chuckled Itachi. 'He's just recently discovered that he's a wizard.'_

_Sasuke stared at his older brother, dumbfounded. 'You're kidding.'_

'_Afraid not, little brother,' Itachi said. 'He'll be taking a lot of subjects to catch up with the rest of you, so help him out, alright?'_

_Sasuke grunted. 'Whatever,' he said, turning back around and continuing up the stairs._

'_You'll be meeting him tomorrow, so be nice, Sasuke!' _

'Oi, bastard,' Naruto said, nudging the raven. 'You coming or what?'

Snapping out of his reverie, Sasuke realized he'd been stationary for a good few minutes during his recollection of yesterday's events. Itachi was staring at him with an annoyingly pleased expression.

'Hn,' he replied, and followed Naruto out of the alley.

To put it mildly, Naruto was ecstatic. He cooed at all the different displays, and tried to wheedle Itachi into buying him a load of cockroach clusters being sold by the road side.

Saying that Jiraiya was as excited as a pack of jumping beans, though, was an understatement. The man couldn't get enough of what he saw. Pausing every five seconds to point at something new, the Uchiha brothers weren't sure whether to be amused or concerned.

'Gringotts is first,' Itachi said, leading them to the large, snowy white building that was near the intersection of Diagon Alley and another, dreary old alley.

Naruto shuddered slightly as they passed a barely noticeable lane, with a sign that said _Knockturn Alley_ proudly pointing it's way, and then tore his eyes away. He hastily caught up to the group, which had moved away from him and had entered the bronze doors.

_Enter stranger, but take heed  
__Of what awaits the sin of greed  
__For those who take but do not earn,  
__Must pay most dearly in their turn,  
__So if you see beneath our floors,  
__A treasure that was never yours,  
__Thief, you have been warned, beware  
__Of finding more than treasure there_

'Woah!' Naruto exclaimed, reading the notice hung on the doors. 'These guys really are something, huh?'

No one answered him, having already entered through the silver doors ahead. Naruto hurried up to them, then blinked and stared in awe at the several, spindly-fingered goblins. He shivered involuntarily as they all turned their impenetrable gaze on him.

Half an hour later, the group left, Naruto happily jingling the gold that he kept securely in his pocket, his earlier discomfort with the goblins forgotten.

'I think we'd better get your robes, first,' said Itachi, leading them to a large shop claiming to be _Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions._

'Sweet!' exclaimed Naruto. He dashed into the shop, with a pained-looking Sasuke following slowly after. Itachi decided to get their books while they were in there. Jiraiya followed him immediately, calling to Naruto that he'd be right back.

A bell tinkled as Sasuke pushed open the door. Naruto was already shoving racks aside as he looked through the different robes.

'Is there any other color here besides black?' he asked, feeling frustrated. 'What, orange is illegal?'

Sasuke, in an exceedingly bored voice, said, 'Dobe. School robes are black.'

'Oh.' Naruto faltered, and then backtracked through the piles he'd discarded. 'Guess I'd better look for my size, then.'

Sasuke didn't turn as he heard the bell tinkle again. Knowing his luck, it'd be someone just as loud and annoying as the irritatingly boisterous dobe.

He was right.

'Sasuke!' a cheerful voice called. Sasuke closed his eyes and counted to ten, willing this to be a nightmare he couldn't wake up from. Naruto, on the other hand, looked up curiously at the newcomer.

'Oi! Sasuke!' A hand grabbed his shoulder and twisted him around. 'What's up?'

'Hn. Dog breath,' Sasuke acknowledged with a small grimace.

'Haha! Good to see you too, Ice Princess,' the shaggy-haired boy grinned. A jacket with a hood covered his head for the most part. His brown hair stuck out from under the hood, framing his boyish face. He pulled his hood down and ran a hand through his hair.

Naruto snickered. 'Ice Princess. I should have thought of that.'

The shaggy-haired boy glanced up, noticing the blonde for the first time. 'Friend of yours, Sasuke?' He nudged the raven, nodding at Naruto.

'Hi, I'm Naruto,' beamed the blonde, walking forward and holding out his hand.

'I had a friend called Naruto, once,' Kiba grinned, grabbing the hand. 'A long time ago. He had blonde hair, too. My name's Kiba.'

'Kiba Inazuka?'

Kiba paused, stunned. 'Na-Naruto?' he asked hesitantly. 'Uzumaki? That you?'

'Kiba!' Naruto shouted gleefully, throwing himself at the larger boy. 'I haven't seen you since you left that day! How long has it been, six years?'

Kiba laughed and hugged the boy tightly, his arms slipping around his waist as he held the thinner boy up. 'I can't believe it's you! Why are you so thin? Hasn't that pervert been getting you anything to eat?'

'Stupid old Jiraiya's going to be thrilled to see you, you know,' Naruto smiled. 'You were always his biggest fan.'

'What can I say? The man is a literary pornography genius.'

Sasuke watched the exchange, just slightly surprised that the two annoying idiots knew each other. He felt an irrational twinge of irritation, as his eyes glared at the arms Kiba had locked around the dobe.

'So you're a wizard?' Kiba asked incredulously, looking down at his friend. 'And you found out just yesterday?'

'Yup,' nodded Naruto. 'The Teme here is supposed to show me around school when we get there. His brother's helping me get the hang of all this magical stuff.'

'Sasuke, I can do it if it's too much trouble,' said Kiba, turning to look at the raven. 'I don't mind showing him around.'

Sasuke appraised the larger boy's face coldly. 'No.'

Kiba rolled his eyes. 'Possessive Ice Princess,' he muttered to Naruto, who smirked.

Sasuke reached into his back pocket for his wand. He had no idea why he felt like he wanted to kill Kiba all of a sudden. Well, the need to kill him was stronger than his usual urge, at any rate. He sighed. Whatever it was, he'd think about it later. Right now, he just wanted to wipe that smirk right off the mongrel's face.

'Hogwarts students?' A plump old lady in flowing, lavender robes appeared from the back of the room. 'Right this way, please. I'll have to take your measurements.'

Sasuke indiscreetly stowed his wand in his jeans. There'd be time for duels later.

* * *

Sasuke walked side-by-side with Naruto, staring moodily at his shoes. Up ahead, Kiba was chattering away excitedly with Naruto's guardian, while Itachi listened in on their conversation with a slightly amused expression. The sun had already gone down, and bright street lights lit up the streets of Diagon Alley.

'So, what wand do you have, teme?' Naruto asked curiously, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye.

Sasuke sighed. Ever since Naruto had gotten his own wand—a 11" Mahogany, with a chimaeras' scale core, which, according to Ollivander's nephew's daughter, is extremely rare, and very powerful—he had been bent on finding out how strong other's wands were. He already knew that Kiba had a 12" Yew wand, with a hippogriff talon core.

Sasuke still hadn't told him about his wand, though. And Naruto was getting impatient.

'Come on, Sasuke. Please?' Naruto pouted, looking at the raven's face with huge, cerulean blue eyes.

Butterflies invaded Sasuke's stomach. He heard a roaring in his ears. He hadn't felt this nervous…this _alive_…since when he first got his Hogwarts letter. What in the world was happening to him? Was it that stupid _look _on Naruto's face that had him so flustered?

Naruto seemed to realize that he was breaking through the raven's barrier. He quickly reached out and took the onyx-eyed boy's hand, squeezing it coaxingly. 'What's the wand, Sasuke?' he whispered huskily.

'Dr-Dragon Heartstring core,' muttered Sasuke, his face on fire. 'Willow.'

Naruto immediately dropped his hand, beaming. 'Cool! Wait till I tell Kiba I found out. He owes me a hundred!' the blond said laughingly.

Sasuke's heart didn't resume its normal pace. It continued to hammer erratically against his chest. His hand felt cold, even though Naruto had held it for just a few seconds.

'We Apparate here,' Itachi said suddenly, stopping in front of a sign that said _The Leaky Cauldron_.

'Oh,' Naruto said, his face falling slightly. He had had so much fun today. 'Well, I guess I'll see you at Hogwarts, eh, Kiba?'

'Definitely,' Kiba smiled, revealing his pointed canines. 'I'll even introduce you to my girlfriend. She's the best.'

Sasuke felt extreme relief wash over him. He felt strangely at peace, now that he knew Kiba was taken.

_What is wrong with me? _he thought suddenly. _Why in the world do I care that Dog-Breath is dating?_

_Because he won't date Naruto_, a small voice in his head piped up.

_But I don't like Naruto, _he thought desperately.

The voice in his head snorted. _Sure you don't_.

'Sasuke?'

The blonde's voice snapped him out of the little argument that was going on inside his head.

'Come on,' he blonde smiled, offering his hand. 'We've got to Apparate.'

Sasuke stared at the hand. Naruto, mistaking the look, quickly took it back.

'Sorry,' the blonde mumbled. 'Don't know what got into me. Just grab Itachi.'

Sasuke nodded. He reached out to his older brother and snagged a piece of his robe.

'See you, Kiba!' Naruto called out, as Itachi started to slowly turn on the spot.

'I'll save you a seat on the train, Naruto!' Kiba called back, waving enthusiastically.

_Not if I can help it_, Sasuke thought sourly. Fine. He'd admit it. He had a thing for Naruto.

With a small _pop_, the group disappeared.

* * *

**A/N: Read and Review, Please!**


	4. Of Cars and Trains

**A/N: Ha! I outdid myself! I was sooooo pleased after reading your reviews, I got a head start and worked through the night on this one. Don't let it get to your heads. Next one should be up in a week or two.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter. **

* * *

'Naruto, is all your stuff packed?'

Jiraiya's head popped in through Naruto's door, his face split in an excited grin. Naruto couldn't help but mirror the old man's expression. Finally, tomorrow, he'd be headed to King's Cross.

'Yeah, I just finished,' Naruto said, standing and dusting himself off. A large, copper steamer trunk stood at his feet, glinting by the light emanating from Naruto's side lamp.

'You'd better turn in,' Jiraiya said, walking in. Sitting down heavily on Naruto's bed, he sighed. 'Brat. What am I going to do when you aren't here for me to yell at?'

Naruto smiled at him. In his own way, Jiraiya was telling him he was worried about him. He felt his heart constrict a little at the thought of leaving his perverted mentor alone to fend for himself.

'Don't worry, Jiraiya,' he said, sitting down next to him. He let his elbows rest on his knees as he leaned forward. He didn't want to make eye contact – as much as he claimed himself to be a man, he knew he might break down if he looked at Jiraiya now. 'I'll write as much as possible. And I'll send you some of those sugar quills we saw at Diagon Alley.'

'You'd better,' Jiraiya said, and his voice suddenly broke. He struggled to get a hold of himself. Taking a deep breath, he continued, 'I'll send you some Instant Ramen packets when you run out, how about that?'

Naruto nodded slowly. 'That'd be nice. You'd better write, too, though. Or I'll think you died and I'll stop everything and come straight home.'

Jiraiya snorted. 'Me. Die. Right.'

Naruto rolled his eyes. 'Stupid, overconfident pervert,' he muttered, smiling.

Jiraiya lifted an arm and ruffled the blonde's hair. 'I'll miss you, kid.'

'I'll miss you too,' Naruto said softly.

Standing suddenly, Jiraiya quickly brushed an arm across his face. Naruto realized that the pervert had started to cry.

'Well, have you got everything?' he said in a choked voice.

'Yeah,' Naruto said, looking away.

'Did I sign that note? The one that lets you into that Hogsmeade place?'

'It's in the trunk,' said Naruto.

'You finished your studies?'

Naruto grumbled a little. When they had gotten back from Diagon Alley, he had been told by a stern Jiraiya that all the books required for Hogwarts students from year 1 to year 6 had been purchased. As soon as Itachi had taken his leave with his brother, Naruto had been given the year 1 books with instructions to learn everything in them within two weeks.

Naruto knew he was exceedingly intelligent, but even then, it had been extremely hard. Jiraiya had gone so far as to purchase Past Papers for an exam all wizards took at fifteen, called O.W.L's. After learning all the material required of first years, the old man had given him an exam on those topics, specifically selected – with some help from Itachi, who dropped in every fortnight – for him, and he'd had to pass with flying colors. If he didn't, he'd been under the threat of no ramen, _ever_.

Naruto had grumbled a lot, thrown tantrums, done everything he could to escape his studies, but Jiraiya had been firm. Every two weeks, he'd switch to the next year's studies. Itachi had been adamant, though, that wand work wasn't allowed. He knew the various motions for different spells, but hadn't been allowed to try them out. He now knew everything there wizards had to know, in theory, down from year 1 to year 4. There hadn't been time for him to memorize the fifth year's curriculum.

Still. Naruto felt he had done pretty well, a fact Jiraiya had grudgingly admitted to.

'Yeah,' he muttered, in answer to Jiraiya's question if he had finished his studies. Since Jiraiya hadn't time to give him an exam for the fifth year, Naruto had been ordered to read through the books. Reading material on the train the next day was a book called _Defense Against The Dark Arts: The Unforgivables, a Revised Edition_ by Janice Lockhart, who, according to the back of the book, was the winner of Wizard Weekly's Most Charming Smile award, seven times in a row.

'Good,' Jiraiya said, walking back to the door. 'Be up early tomorrow, Naruto. Itachi is going to be here at eight.'

'I know,' Naruto said. Leaning over his bed lamp, he switched it off, and then settled into his sheets.

* * *

'Hurry up, brat!' Jiraiya yelled, dragging the trunk down the stairs as fast as he dared without breaking it. 'Itachi will be here any minute!'

'I'm coming, I'm coming!' Naruto yelled, shoving his arms through the sleeves of his black leather jacket. He paused for a second in front of his mirror. A bright orange tee-shirt underneath the jacket glared back at him, and tight, black jeans hugged his legs. A black cap was crammed on top of his blonde spikes. Naruto grinned at himself. 'Cool.'

'NARUTO!'

Naruto whipped around and ran out the door. 'Coming!' He dashed down the stairs. Jiraiya had managed to get his trunk down in one piece, and was now struggling to pull it across the threshold, which was proving difficult. 'Need help with that?'

Jiraiya grunted in an irritated assent. Naruto strode up to him and heaved on one corner of the trunk. Together, they got it to the door, just as the bell rang.

Naruto let go of his side of the load, and it fell to the ground with a huge _bang_. He chuckled nervously at the glare that Jiraiya threw him, and edged toward the door. Throwing it open, he ushered Itachi in without looking at him, his eyes trained on the pervert's murderous ones, before slamming it shut.

'Blondie, my brother's out there.'

Naruto threw his head back and let out a groan. Grumbling, he moved back to the door and swung it open.

* * *

Itachi threw an amused look at Sasuke. He was driving the latest in British cars, a sleek, black Lightning GT, and was speeding down the highway with amazing ferocity. On most occasions, Sasuke would pale, his palms fisting on his lap, and would endure the ride in his brother's latest toy in tight-lipped silence. Today, however, was different. As Itachi sped toward Uzumaki's home, he glanced regularly at his brother. The boy had opted to dress like a muggle on the ride to the train station, wearing a black shirt and blue denim jeans. Sasuke was fidgeting with his hands, not even seeming to notice the speed. He was quietly contemplating god-knows-what. The only other time Itachi had seen him act like this was when they had gotten back from that trip to Diagon Alley.

_Maybe it's something to do with Blondie, _Itachi mused. His foot applied more pressure to the pedal, so that the car was touching 200km/hr. _Huh. Blondie and Sasuke. Who'd have thought? _Itachi thought for a second. _Maybe if he gets together with him, I can tell him about Deidara. He's been dying to meet Sasuke, anyway_.

'Itachi.' Sasuke's voice was deathly soft. 'Do you realize that if you crash, we will die?'

Itachi smirked. Finally. He glanced once more at the needle. 220.

'Slow down,' Sasuke commanded, his voice threatening.

'Let me introduce you to a concept you have obviously not heard of, dear brother,' Itachi said, swerving wildly around a bend. 'Magic.'

Sasuke scowled. 'Itachi, if you don't slow down, even magic won't help.'

'You'd be surprised.'

Ten minutes later, the car pulled up to the driveway of Jiraiya's mansion. Sasuke leapt out of the car and slammed the door shut.

'If you ever pull a stunt like that again,' he hissed, as Itachi got out through the other side, completely unruffled, 'so help me, I will castrate you.'

'You're so uptight, Sasuke,' Itachi sighed. 'What you need to do is get laid.'

'I'm sixteen!'

'Sixteen, sixty, what's the difference?' Itachi waved his hand dismissively.

Sasuke growled and followed his brother up to the door. The doorbell rang, and Sasuke heard a loud_ bang_ inside the house. He frowned at the door. What the hell was that?

Suddenly, the door was thrown open. Sasuke's heart thudded painfully in his chest as he caught sight of Naruto. The blonde looked – Sasuke gulped. There was no other word for it – _hot_. Try as he might, though, Sasuke couldn't look into the dobe's eyes. This was because, Sasuke realized, irritated, he wasn't even looking outside the door. He seemed to be staring elsewhere. Before the raven realized what had happened, Naruto had pulled Itachi in, and slammed the door shut.

A second later, it was thrown back open. This time, blue eyes met onyx ones.

'Sorry,' Naruto apologized, scratching the back of his neck. 'Didn't see you.'

Sasuke nodded and entered, fighting down the blush that threatened to cover his pale cheeks. He forgot to hold his breath as he passed the blonde. His scent – his sexy, musky scent – overwhelmed him. It took all he had not to inhale deeply and embarrass himself.

He took in the scene before him. Jiraiya was talking to Itachi, standing next to a large trunk. Naruto had left the door open, and was now attempting to drag said trunk outside.

Sasuke sighed. Taking out his wand, he pointed at the trunk and said, '_Wingardium Leviosa.'_

Naruto instantly let go of the trunk, and stared at it in awe as it levitated. Then he twisted, grinning, to face Sasuke.

'I know that spell,' he said proudly. 'I've never done it, but I recognized what you said.'

Sasuke stared at him. Inside, he was surprised that the blonde knew what was happening. Itachi had mentioned that the boy was studying, but…well, he just didn't look like the type that caught on very quickly. He made a mental note to add _possible genius _to the list of things he knew about Naruto, such as _sexy, hot, _and _dobe_. None of his inner turmoil, however, made themselves known. His face remained as passive as ever.

Naruto didn't seem put off in the least. 'I thought underage wizards won't supposed to do magic?'

'Actually, the ministry can't detect who does the magic. If you do it in the presence of a witch or wizard of age, they won't be the wiser,' Itachi said.

'Aren't you from the ministry?' Naruto asked curiously.

'Yes,' Itachi mused. 'But I don't care if Sasuke follows the ministry rules or not. As long as he doesn't do anything to kill himself, I'm fine.' With that, he led them to the car.

Bemused, Naruto and Jiraiya followed. Sasuke flicked his wand and strode after them, the trunk in tow.

'Awesome!' Naruto exclaimed, staring excitedly at the car. But then his face suddenly fell. 'How are we going to fit everything in that?'

'The car is enchanted,' Itachi explained, moving to the back and unlocking the trunk. He lifted it to reveal an extremely large space, much bigger than one would have thought if you looked at the outside of the car. Inside, Sasuke's black trunk was already at a side, room for Naruto's next to it.

Sasuke waved his wand so that the trunk floated into the space. The door to the car trunk slammed shut as soon as Naruto's trunk was in.

'Let's get a move on,' Itachi said, ushering Naruto to the front. He opened the passenger side door for him. Inside, the space was large enough for a family of eight. The quality of the interior was different than one would expect though. Although kept in fairly good condition, it wasn't the actual interior of the car.

Naruto climbed into the back seat. Sasuke, after a moment of unnoticeable hesitation, climbed in after him. Once they were strapped in, Jiraiya got up front with Itachi.

'Okay, boys,' Itachi said cheerfully, getting in the driver's side. 'Hang on to your seatbelts!'

* * *

'I'm never getting into another car with you for as long as I live,' Naruto told Itachi firmly as they pushed their trolleys down King's Cross, looking for the platforms 9 and 10.

Itachi smirked. 'You know, Blondie, you remind me an awful lot of my brother.'

Sasuke snorted behind them.

'Yeah, right,' muttered Naruto. 'Your brother is a bastard. I'm nowhere near as bastardly as he is.'

Sasuke rolled his eyes. 'Someone got poetic,' he said, smirking.

'Shut up,' Naruto advised.

'Keep it down, brat,' Jiraiya said, trailing after the group.

They reached the wall between platform 9 and 10 after a few minutes. Naruto paused and stared at it. He knew it wasn't real. But still. It looked awfully solid.

'Go on, Blondie,' Itachi nudged him forward. 'Sasuke will be right behind you.'

Naruto took a deep breath. He tightened his grip on his trolley. Closing his eyes, he made a run for it.

The collision he half-expected never came. To his surprise, he suddenly heard a steam engine. Blue eyes blinked open.

He had made it onto the platform! Kids were milling around, talking to friends and family. A slow smile started to form on Naruto's face. He was finally off!

'Dobe,' a voice said, very close to his ear.

Naruto started. He glanced to his left, and came face-to-face with Sasuke. Sasuke smirked at his look of surprise.

'Come on,' he said, nodding at the train. 'Let's get a carriage before they're all gone.'

Dazed, Naruto realized that the cold, Ice Princess Bastard was offering to share a compartment. _With_ him_. _Naruto thought for a second. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

'Naruto!'

Naruto watched, slightly surprised, as Sasuke's shoulder's tensed in front of him. Deciding to brush it off as nothing, he turned with a huge grin plastered on his face. 'Kiba!' he yelled.

'Come on, I saved you a seat,' Kiba called, waving him over. Naruto glanced back at Sasuke. Then back at Kiba. Then to Sasuke again. Turning back to Kiba, he asked, 'Is it alright if Sasuke comes along?'

Kiba hesitated for a millisecond, before his face split into a wide grin. 'Sure thing.'

Sasuke looked at Naruto in surprise. Then he smirked.

'Can't survive without me?'

'Shut up, and come on,' muttered Naruto. He didn't know what had made him decide to include Sasuke on the spur of the moment. Maybe it was because Sasuke had offered to share a carriage. _Yeah, that's it, _Naruto agreed.

Itachi and Jiraiya made it through the barrier just then.

'I have never met a more stubborn man,' Itachi told him loudly, annoyed.

'You wanted me to run into a wall!' Jiraiya argued. 'Can you blame me?'

'You just say Blondie and Sasuke run through! How could you have any doubts?'

'Shut up,' moaned Jiraiya. 'I don't think I'll ever get used to that.'

Itachi rolled his eyes expressively.

'Oi, Itachi!' Naruto called. 'Give me a hand with these trunks?'

Itachi nodded and flicked his wand. The trunks levitated and flew into the train. 'Where to?'

'This way,' called Kiba, leading the way.

Once they were settled in, Kiba pointed to the one girl sitting in their carriage. 'Naruto, meet my girlfriend, Hinata. Hinata, this is that idiot I mentioned.'

Naruto laughingly cuffed Kiba on the neck, before offering a hand politely to the blushing brunette. 'Hey there, Hinata. Nice to meet you.'

'Same here, Naruto,' Hinata said with a shy smile. Her pale eyes stood out against her fair skin, as she looked him over. 'I've heard a lot about you.'

'They better have been good things,' Naruto said, glaring playfully at her boyfriend.

'Of course,' she said.

'You've met Sasuke before?' Naruto asked, moving aside to introduce the raven.

'Hello, Sasuke,' Hinata said. 'Yes, we've met.'

Sasuke nodded once to acknowledge her, then instantly settled into the seat opposite, by the window.

'No fair!' Naruto cried, outraged. 'I wanted the window seat!'

Sasuke moved to the left at once, leaving the window seat free. 'Go ahead.'

Naruto blushed lightly, backtracking. He'd thought there'd be an argument of some sort. 'N-No, if you really want it…,'

Sasuke glared at him. 'Do you want the seat or not, dobe?'

Still mumbling, Naruto moved and sat down. 'Thanks,' he muttered.

Sasuke smirked and, ever so slightly, shifted closer, so that no one but Naruto noticed. 'Anytime, dobe.'

'Little brother.'

Startled, Sasuke leapt from his seat. He glared daggers at his brother. 'What?'

Itachi smirked, a perfect imitation of Sasuke's face a few moment's ago. 'Just making sure you settled in. Are you-,' his eyes darted to where Sasuke had been sitting seconds ago, '-_comfortable_?'

Sasuke snarled at him. 'Perfectly.'

'Excellent,' Itachi said. 'Remember now, kids. Practice safe sex.'

Sasuke practically murdered him right there. To his mortification, Naruto said, in an obliviously cheerful tone, 'Ah, I think Sasuke and I can hold Kiba off Hinata until we reach Hogwarts.'

'Of course,' Itachi said smoothly. Hinata blushed, while Kiba grinned.

'Get out,' Sasuke said, pushing him out the door.

'Oh, and Blondie,' called Itachi, to Sasuke's horror. 'Wave at the old man, would you? He's going crazy out there.' Sasuke sighed in relief.

With that, Itachi left the compartment. Sasuke resumed his position next to Naruto, leaning closer than ever on the pretense of waving somberly at his brother.

10 minutes later, a loud, shrill whistle sounded. The train came to life, chugging forward slowly as all the families on the platform waved enthusiastically at the kids.

'See ya, Naruto!' Jiraiya yelled, loudest of them all. 'Make sure you send loads of pictures!'

'Take care, you old pervert!' Naruto called affectionately.

With one last whistle, the train was off.

* * *

**A/N: So, you know the drill. Read and Review, please.**

**I know I mentioned one Janice Lockhart up there. In my perfect little world, Gilderoy's niece was every bit as gorgeous as her uncle, with the added bonus of being a tad more intelligent than most. So there you go. I thought it was such a shame if I let the Lockhart name go to waste. If, by chance, I've messed up some facts and Gilderoy is all alone in the world, with no family to speak of, then remember this is fanfiction, and I can do what I like. **

**FrostyIceCube: You, my friend, RULE. Thanks so much for reviewing.**

**Thanks to all the other reviewers as well! I love you all.**


	5. Sorting it all out

**Hey there! Here's that fifth chapter I promised. Ugh, it's earlier than it should be, but that's only because you beautiful people reviewed. I bet if I got even more I'd be quicker. **

**Grumbles And to think, I wanted to make you wait a little longer. Curse you all for being so wonderful.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

* * *

Lush green fields zoomed past the window as the Hogwarts Express pulled out of London. Naruto watched, fascinated, as buildings turned to grass, grass to trees, and finally, trees to nothing but wide open spaces.

Lying limp in his arms was a copy of _Defense Against the Dark Arts: The Unforgivables, A Revised Edition_. He had yet to pick it up and read through it; he was so absorbed in the scenery.

'What would you like to eat, then, kids?' A jolly old man with a short, trim beard, slid the door of the compartment open and suddenly popped his head in, his eyes crinkling as he smiled at them.

Naruto snapped out of his reverie. Kiba quickly withdrew himself from his passionate snogging session with Hinata, who was blushing to her hair roots. Sasuke hastily retreated slightly to the left as Naruto looked up, for fear of being caught staring wistfully at the blonde's neck.

'You have any Kit Kat, sir?' Naruto asked, standing and rummaging in his jean's pocket for a few gold coins. Sasuke swallowed loudly. The pocket was on the back, giving the raven a full view, and Naruto's black jeans were _tight_.

'Ain't got no idea what that is, sonny,' the old man said, grinning toothily. 'But I'll tell you what I _do _got, I will. I've got Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, I've got Fanny…'

Sasuke let his mind drown out the voice of the man, his eyes on Naruto. Kiba was rolling his eyes at Naruto's comment about Kit Kat and muttering '_Muggles_' under his breath, while Hinata had produced a purse, and was currently looking through it for some change.

A few minutes later, Sasuke's eyes widened as he took in the load of sweets Naruto and Hinata dumped in a large heap on the floor of the carriage.

'Right on, Hinata,' he said, high-fiving the girl. 'We are going to eat like kings.'

'Or get as fat as kings,' Sasuke pointed out drily.

'Or that,' Naruto nodded thoughtfully, pulling out a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, opening it, and then popping an odd, blackish-brown colored one into his mouth. It made a loud crunching noise as Naruto bit down on it. 'Ugh,' he said, making a face. 'This tastes horrible.'

Kiba pulled the box out of his grip ('HEY!' Naruto cried indignantly) and rummaged in it for a bean the same color. Finding it, he sniffed it suspiciously, and then took a tiny, cautious bite.

'Tastes like a Cockroach Cluster,' he announced, his nose scrunching up.

'Argh!' Naruto yanked open the window and started spitting what remained of the bean outside. After a minute, he drew his head back in and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. 'Ugh. Cockroach. They really mean it when they say every flavor, huh?'

'Never underestimate the power of the bean, Naruto,' Kiba said solemnly.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at him.

10 minutes later, Sasuke was feeling decidedly drowsy. Good food and no good conversation did that to you. His eyes raked the assortment of sweets on the floor. Finding the last, lone Sugar Quill, he leaned down quickly to pick it up, just as Naruto hastily reached out for it as well. Their heads met halfway, colliding with a muffled _thud_.

'Owwww,' Naruto moaned. He rubbed the part he'd knocked tenderly.

Sasuke groaned as well, clutching his aching head. 'Watch where you're going next time, dobe.'

'ME?' Naruto said, glaring at him as he continued to rub his head. 'Ever thought it might be YOUR fault, teme?'

'Shut up, Naruto,' Sasuke sighed, his head throbbing with the volume of Naruto's voice. What a brilliant way to start the school year. Arguing with the one guy he'd been interested in since…okay, _ever_.

'I've got some bandages in my trunk,' Hinata offered.

Naruto smiled at her, wincing as he accidentally rubbed particularly hard. 'It's fine. It's just a little bump.'

'Sasuke?' she asked.

Sasuke shook his head. He'd be alright in a minute.

Kiba offered to pass the time playing Exploding Snap. Naruto took him up on the offer at once. Sasuke leaned back and watched the several games they played (Naruto lost all but two, and Hinata had to douse his easily-flammable eyebrows several times). He noticed, from a corner of his eye, that Naruto's book lay forgotten on his seat.

'Naruto, look outside!' Hinata abruptly said during the 16th game. 'You can see Hogwarts from here!'

Naruto immediately glanced outside. 'Where?'

'Behind you!'

Naruto twisted around and stared. Hinata was right. You could see the castle in the distance, painted an eerie black against the red sky, moving steadily closer with each passing second.

The door suddenly slid open with a loud clatter.

'Sasuke?'

A pink-haired beauty with green eyes stood at the doorway, surveying the group. The light from the corridor outside shone around her slim, curvy figure. When her eyes landed on Sasuke, they lit up.

'Hey there, Sasuke,' she said, smiling prettily. 'How was your summer?'

'Hn.'

The girl's smile faltered, and then returned with full force. She had caught sight of Naruto, who was looking back at her with interest.

'Hi,' she said softly, batting her lashes. 'I haven't seen _you _around before. Got a name, tiger?'

Sasuke glared at her, while Naruto blushed lightly. 'Uh, hi. I'm Naruto.'

'Cute,' she said, her head cocked to one side as she looked him over. 'I'm Sakura. You're the new kid?'

Naruto nodded. 'How did you know?'

'My aunt works at the Ministry,' Sakura explained. 'Well, Naruto, if you need me to show you around or any-'

'_Sakura,'_ Sasuke said, annoyed. 'That won't be necessary._ I'll_ be showing him around.'

Naruto glanced at Kiba, meaning to exchange confused looks with him as to why Sasuke was suddenly acting so weird. Kiba didn't meet his eyes, though. The dog-lover seemed to be smirking to himself at some inside joke as he watched the raven.

Sakura's eyes flicked to Sasuke once more. 'Alright. One more thing.'

Sasuke almost snarled at her. As it was, he merely appraised her with a cold look. 'What?'

'Would you like to go out next Hogsmeade weekend?'

'No,' Sasuke said at once.

Sakura shook her head, not in the least fazed by the rejection. 'You'll come around someday. Anyway, I'll see you guys later. Later, Naruto!' she said as she shut the door, and then walked away.

'Bye!' Naruto called after her. 'Well, she was nice,' he said, when they no longer heard her footsteps. 'Who is she?'

'Sakura Haruno,' Hinata said. 'Sasuke's number 1 fan.'

Naruto glanced at the raven in surprise. 'This bastard has _fans_?'

Kiba laughed. 'Like you would not _believe_,' he told Naruto. 'He's practically got half the female population in school stalking him.'

Naruto looked at Sasuke with a newfound respect. 'Awesome,' he said to him seriously.

Sasuke ignored him.

As they neared Hogwarts, the group pulled open their trunks and got out their school robes. As soon as they had donned them, the train squealed to a stop.

Naruto was the first one out of his carriage. Other students jostled him about, and he had no choice but to move with the flow. As he was pushed forward, he felt something catch on his sleeve, near his elbow. Ignoring the pressure there, he continued to move.

When he got out of the train and into open air, Naruto breathed deeply. The September air was a tad chilly, and he shivered slightly.

Warm air suddenly breathed in his ear. 'Cold?' a voice whispered.

Naruto whipped around. Sasuke smirked at the stunned expression and released his hold on Naruto's sleeve. Sasuke, the blonde realized, must have been what he felt near his elbow just as he left the carriage.

'N-No,' Naruto stammered in response to the raven, his face suddenly flaming.

'Come on,' Sasuke said, dragging Naruto to where the carriages were waiting. 'We have to get one before those stupid girls do.'

Naruto looked at him quizzically.

As if in answer to his unasked question, a high pitched shriek rang out over the noise of general chatter among the students. 'Sasuke!' a girl with long black hair screamed, waving frantically as she hung out the door of a carriage. 'There's room in here! Come on!'

Grimacing, Sasuke pulled Naruto into a nearby, empty carriage. 'We'll wait in here for dog-breath and his girlfriend,' he said, settling down in a seat near the far window.

Naruto sat quietly in the carriage, contemplating something. He glanced up at Sasuke regularly, but then looked away immediately.

'What?' Sasuke asked irritably, after Naruto had looked at him and away again for what seemed like the hundredth time. 'Have I got something on my face?'

'Do-Do you really have that many fan girls?' Naruto asked hesitantly.

Sasuke looked at him in surprise. 'Well…yeah, I guess. If the way they keep ambushing me is in any indication. It's like they _wait _for me at every corner,' he said, shaking his head.

'Oh,' Naruto said, looking back down. Then he glanced up again. 'So do you have a girlfriend, then?'

Sasuke sputtered as he choked on air. 'No!'

The last thing he wanted was for Naruto to think he was unavailable.

Naruto looked visibly relieved. 'Oh. Okay.'

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the blonde suspiciously. Then, seeming to realize something, he suddenly smirked.

'What?' Naruto asked, frowning at the look of sudden, subtle glee on the raven's face.

'Nothing,' Sasuke said innocently, continuing to smirk.

'Hey, guys,' Kiba said loudly, yanking open the door to the carriage. He climbed in, then turned around and chivalrously offered a hand to Hinata. 'Glad to see you made it alive.'

'Kiba,' Hinata chided, shaking her head and letting her boyfriend haul her in. 'In his own way, he's thanking you for saving us a carriage,' she explained to them.

Sasuke nodded to Hinata, his face back to its normal, inexpressive mask.

The carriage started moving with a sudden jolt, the wheels below them creaking to life. Naruto glanced out the window opposite the carriage door, watching as they moved past the Hogwarts train and towards the large castle.

'So we're being pulled by magic?' he asked suddenly, trying to crane his neck through said window.

Sasuke leaned over and yanked him back in. 'Don't do that,' he said sternly. 'You could lose your head.'

'Overprotective much, Sasuke?' Kiba said teasingly.

'Shut up, mongrel,' Sasuke retorted.

'The carriages are pulled by Thestrals, Naruto,' Hinata told the blonde. 'They're these horse-like things that are invisible unless you've seen someone die. We learnt about them last year.'

'Wow. Morbid,' Naruto commented, settling back into his seat.

The rest of the ride was quiet, save for the rattling of the carriage as it made its way up the road. Kiba made it his duty to point out every single thing that they passed. Right after their carriage moved through tall, granite pillars, on top of which were winged boars, on either side of the gates to the school grounds, Kiba said, pointing at the darkness, 'That, Naruto, is the Forbidden Forest. Obviously, it's off limits to all students, except when you have a Care of Magical Creatures lesson in there, or a detention with the caretaker, Zabuza, who is really nice and never gives anyone a detention anyways.'

Naruto squinted through the window. 'I don't see anything.'

'I'll show you in the morning then,' Kiba said, ignoring the small scowl Sasuke sent his way.

The carriage eventually came to a halt in front of the stone steps leading up to the huge, oak front doors. They all got out, and Naruto stared up the castle in awe.

'Wow,' he murmured, mesmerized.

What looked like over a hundred turrets were outlined against the dark sky. The entire structure was pitch black, save for the few windows here and there that looked like fireflies as the glow from the fires inside flickered.

'Naruto Uzumaki?' a soft voice called out from his right. 'Is Naruto Uzumaki here?'

Naruto and the group looked to find a pretty young woman staring at him. Her eyes were a shade of brown that could easily be mistaken for red. Her hair, shoulder-length and black, pooled around her neck, contrasting with the rich crimson of her robe.

'I'm Naruto,' he said.

A smile of relief broke out on her face. 'Oh, okay. Brilliant. If you would step this way, please.'

'Why?' Naruto asked, bewildered. Had he already done something wrong?

'Professor Shizune is looking for you. She'll be taking you to see Professor Tsunade,' the woman explained. 'She'll bring you back in time for the sorting. Oh, I'm Professor Kurenai, by the way. I teach Transfiguration, and I'm Head of Ravenclaw.'

'Naruto, you go ahead,' Kiba said, ushering him toward Professor Kurenai. 'We'll see you in the morning.'

'Morning?' Naruto frowned. 'Why in the morning? Won't we see each other tonight?'

Sasuke hadn't moved his eyes from Naruto. Now, he said, 'If you get into Gryffindor, I'll be saving you a seat.'

'Oh.' Realization dawned on the blonde. When he was sorted, he would go to one of four houses, each with a completely separate dining table and common room. He might not go into the same house as his new friends. 'Hey, what houses are you in?' he called out desperately.

'Gryffindor,' they answered unanimously, just as Kurenai pulled him out of sight.

* * *

Sasuke had, true to his word, kept the space next to himself free. Kiba and Hinata sat opposite him, holding hands and whispering to each other. The raven glanced down at his own hands on the table, his thumbs twiddling as he waited for the sorting to begin. He couldn't believe he hadn't realized that Naruto might not be in Gryffindor. He scowled at the thought.

A memory suddenly hit him, full force. He managed a small smirk as he thought of it. Naruto had seemed worried that Sasuke might have a girlfriend. That only meant one thing: Naruto liked him. As more than a friend, he reasoned. Of course, the dobe might not have realized it yet. _But he will_, Sasuke thought assuredly_. I'll make sure he crawls right into my eagerly waiting arms_.

The double doors from the Entrance Hall swung open. A long line of twitching, terrified little first-years followed Professor Shizune – a short-haired, tough-looking but sweet woman that, in addition to being Deputy Headmistress, also taught Care of Magical Creatures – into the hall. Professor Shizune was carrying an old, worn out wizard's hat, which had a wide rip near its brim, and a scroll. She placed the hat on a stool in front of the staff table at the other end of the Great Hall, and then moved away as the first-years lined up.

Kiba had exploded into a fit of muffled snorts while Hinata had slapped a hand over her mouth, her body shaking slightly and her lips turned upward. Even Sasuke had to smirk.

Toward the end of the line stood Naruto, looking exceedingly disgruntled. His height, being around 5 feet 9 inches, made him stand out, and the way the candlelight played on his bright blonde hair did it even more. Almost all the first years just reached his elbow. The midgets at the end of the line just before and after Naruto, kept glancing up at him in awe. Naruto stood with his arms crossed in front of him, and a slight pout on his face.

The entire hall was silent. For a second, Sasuke thought they would burst into laughter at any given moment. Instead, the rip at the brim of the hat suddenly opened wide, and started to talk:

_As I sat upon my shelf  
__In the year that's past  
__I pondered how to sing this song  
__To make the memory last_

_For don't think that I do not know  
__That you will all forget  
__As soon as you walk out these doors  
__That leads you to your bed_

_So thinking in the dark, I was  
__About the Founders four  
__But I cannot keep dwelling on  
__The brilliance that's no more_

_So let me tell you all a story  
__Of the legendary Bright that meets the Black  
__Of the Bright infectious happiness  
__And the darkness that attacks_

_The two are destined, entwined  
__One is Yin, the other Yang  
__Without one, there is no other  
__Without the other, the world is sad_

_So Bright will make the whole world smile  
__And laugh with their happy faces  
__While Black will lock it all away  
__So that Bright may have many more cases_

_And Black will comfort those who need  
__The closure, to let life go on  
__And Bright shall come and stand by him  
__And take Black away, when he's done_

_So think hard about this, my friends  
__When I've sorted out you lot  
__Black and Bright come in equal doses  
__But separate, they're not_

_For without one, there is no other  
__Without the other, the world's a sin  
__But Ah! I've tired you all out  
__Let the Sorting now begin!_

The Great Hall burst into scattered applause, some of the more serious ones frowning as they thought about the hat's message.

'Odd, isn't it?' Hinata leaned forward and murmured to Sasuke, who glanced up at her. 'Do you remember the Sorting Hat ever telling us anything that _didn't _have to do with the four founders?'

Sasuke shook his head mutely.

'And it was so short this year,' Hinata continued, her eyes moving to lock onto the old hat.

'Hinata,' Kiba laughed, slipping an arm around her waist. 'You're overanalyzing things again. Whatever, it's about time he got something new to talk about, anyway.'

'But the students have to be told of the founders!' Hinata said, indignant. 'How will they know why they are going to a particular house, otherwise? How will they know if deep down, they're brave, or smart, or cunning, or _anything_?'

'I'm sure the Sorting Hat thought of that, love,' Kiba said soothingly. 'We'll ask Naruto when we get a chance, okay?'

Hinata nodded, still not looking convinced, and then settled for watching the sorting.

'Brown, Magnolia!' Shizune, who had stepped forward after the hat was done with its song, read out from a scroll of parchment she had.

A shy, pink-faced blonde walked as quickly as her hasty legs could carry her and sat on the stool, placing the hat on her head. It was too large for her, and slid down to cover her eyes.

After a few seconds, the hat called loudly, 'HUFFLEPUFF!'

The table on the right cheered encouragingly as they girl took off the hat, put it back on the stool, and ran as quickly as possible to hide in the throng of students that crowded around her to welcome her.

'Boot, Peter!' A boy with black hair and sharp ears hurried forward out of the line and placed the hat on his head.

'RAVENCLAW!' the hat yelled.

It continued this way, with Shizune calling all the new students' names until finally, she reached the U's.

'Uzumaki, Naruto!'

Naruto walked forward, acutely aware of the fact that the entire hall was silent. He inwardly groaned. He hated making more of a spectacle of himself than he should. What he didn't know was that the female population of Hogwarts had already started gossiping as to the new, extremely hot blonde that had started school with them this year. Most were waiting with bated breaths to find out what house he would be in.

Naruto sat on the stool and placed the hat on his head, feeling ridiculous. It fit him perfectly. Twiddling his thumbs, he looked out at the tables that were staring right back at him. He gulped audibly.

'_Let's see, now,' _a low voice suddenly whispered in his ear, startling him. His blue eyes darted left and right nervously, trying to find the voice's source.

'_Intelligent, I see_,' the voice continued. Naruto realized that the voice was from the hat. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the edges of the stool tightly. _'Ah, but terribly brave, too. Confident. AND cunning!' _the hat added. Naruto could have sworn the hat sounded surprised.

The blonde wasn't sure if he should talk back to it. That might look ridiculous if he wasn't supposed to, he decided. So he thought really hard. If the hat could read his mind's qualities, surely it could just read his mind?

_Am I supposed to talk to you? _He asked curiously. _I mean, do you need me to tell you anything?_

'_What do you take me for, boy?_' the hat said. '_I can decide perfectly well without your help as to which house to put you in.'_

_Oh. Just checking_, Naruto said.

'_Anything you'd prefer?_' the hat suddenly asked. '_You'd do well in any of the houses, you know.'_

_Nah, I'm good_, Naruto assured it, talking to it as if they were friends of old.

'_Bah! Well, I'll put you in Gryffindor, then,' _the hat said. _'It seems like your kind of house. Brave of heart, and all that.'_

_Okay, _Naruto said.

'GRYFFINDOR!' the hat yelled out to the hall. Naruto cringed slightly at the volume.

The Gryffindor table burst into loud applause. Screaming and cheering girls waved Naruto over, who stood and put the hat down with a flourish, generating a few good-natured laughs.

Naruto's eyes roamed the table. Finding Sasuke, he grinned and made his way to the empty space next to him.

* * *

**This chapter didn't have everything I wanted it to. I meant to include another important bit in the story, but I couldn't fit it in. I'm already past my average word limit per chapter, and I'd like to keep everything even.**

**So I'll put that in the next chapter.**

**As for the song that the hat sings, know that it is completely original. I know it's weird, but try replacing the words, so that _Bright _is Naruto, and _Black _is Sasuke.**

**Thanks again for the reviews! You guys rock. Special love to FrostyIceCube, Kyorose, and Prauge. **

**READ & REVIEW!**


	6. Delectables

**And here is the sixth chappie. Fall to your knees now, and thank the lord that I am so extremely thrilled with your reviews. If not for them, believe me, this would have taken another week.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

* * *

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief as Naruto approached him, realizing just then that he had been holding his breath. He had been slightly apprehensive as to which House the Sorting Hat would call out. A pleasant, tingling sensation flooded his body as Naruto sat down on the bench next to him, slipping in between himself and a redhead next to him, beaming.

'Welcome to the best House in Hogwarts, Naruto,' Kiba roared over the cheers of the still-screaming girls. He leaned over the table and rapped knuckles with the blonde, grinning.

'Thanks, Kiba,' Naruto said, once the table had settled down. He glanced at Sasuke. 'Glad to see me, teme?'

Sasuke rolled his eyes, smirking. 'Sure, dobe.'

Naruto grinned at him, and then turned to watch the sorting continue.

When the last student had been sorted (Lourdes Zefferman went to Ravenclaw), the blonde was delighted to turn and find that the table was filled with mouth-watering dishes. Kiba had already started digging in, shoveling heaps of potatoes onto his plate. Hinata had started with a sip of her pumpkin juice.

The only other person besides Naruto who hadn't touched his food was Sasuke. The raven was openly gaping at the staff table.

'What's up, Sasuke?' Naruto asked while glancing up curiously in the direction Sasuke was looking at.

'Nothing,' Sasuke said, his eyes snapping to Naruto. 'I thought I saw something.'

'Oh,' said Naruto. 'Well, dig in!' With that, the blonde speared a bit of turkey on the end of his fork and shoved it onto his plate. Sasuke watched with an amused expression before he picked up a knife, sawed the turkey neatly into a quarter, and then took a piece for himself.

'Hey, Naruto,' Kiba said, swallowing a mouthful of food. 'What did Tsunade want?'

Naruto gulped down his third piece of turkey. 'Ah, nothing much,' he said, waving his fork dismissively. 'Just wanted to meet me, let me know a few things.'

Naruto didn't mention what had really transpired between him and the Headmistress. He thought back to the events as he continued to eat.

_He followed Professor Kurenai as she led him through the large, double oak doors to the Entrance Hall. At the base of the wide marble staircase opposite the doors stood a kind-looking witch garbed in black. Professor Kurenai led him to her._

'_Professor Shizune,' said Professor Kurenai, upon reaching the stairs. 'This is Naruto Uzumaki. Is there anything else you'll need?'_

'_Thank you so much, Kurenai,' Professor Shizune smiled. 'No, that's quite all for tonight. I'll see you at the sorting, then.'_

_Professor Kurenai nodded, then turned and made her way to the Great Hall. _

'_So you're the elusive Naruto Uzumaki, are you?' Shizune said, looking the blonde up and down. 'You seem well enough. If you will follow me, please.' The witch turned on her heel and led the way up the stairs._

_Naruto followed, maintaining five feet between them. _She seems nice enough_, he thought, watching her. _Looks like most people here are.

_Professor Shizune paused at a hallway and pointed down it. 'If you go down there,' she said, 'you'll come to my office. I'm Deputy Headmistress, and if you ever need anything, feel free to come and see me.'_

_Naruto nodded, trying to fix the location in his head. Hogwarts, he thought to himself, was decidedly huge._

_As they moved on, she pointed down yet another hallway. 'That,' she said, 'is the Hospital Wing. Conveniently enough, it's located on this floor.'_

'_Why is that convenient?' asked Naruto curiously._

'_I'm a certified Healer, so I handle most student cases. If the matter is serious, Professor Tsunade will step in. Lucky for me, both offices are mine.' She grinned at Naruto, and he guessed that she was proud to have such an important role in the school. _

_Shizune continued until they reached yet another staircase. When they reached the top, she led them across the floor till they reached an ugly stone gargoyle. Naruto stared, bewildered, at the statue, as it stood at rapt attention, never moving from its stony position._

'_Mandragora,' said Shizune._

_Naruto was baffled for a moment. He remembered reading in one of his new second-year textbooks that mandragora a plant used in medicines. Why, then, would Shizune suddenly say it to him? _

_To his astonishment, the hideous gargoyle in front of them leapt to a side, revealing a long, winding staircase._

'_Come on, then,' Shizune urged, smiling at the befuddled look on the blonde's face. 'Get on.'_

_Naruto obeyed at once. He moved forward until he was standing next to the dark-haired professor on the first stone step. All of a sudden, the staircase started to move, spiraling at a slow, steady pace upward._

'_It leads to the Headmistress's Tower,' explained Professor Shizune._

_Naruto nodded, dumbstruck. Magic never failed to amaze him._

_When they reached the top, the steps came to an abrupt halt. The two stepped out, and Naruto gaped at the splendor that surrounded him._

_He was in a circular room adorned with portraits of witches and wizards, every single one of them moving around, and most taking no notice of him. Stars twinkled merrily at him from behind the large windows, while different odd-looking instruments whirred and popped for no apparent reason. Behind the large desk near one of the windows sat a large-busted blonde woman, in robes of emerald green. _

_As Naruto stepped forward, moving behind Professor Shizune, he noticed her looking at him with a bored expression. Her fingers lay interlocked on the surface of her desk, propped up by her elbows, and on which her chin rested. Next to her, glinting by the glow of the fire was a bottle that read _'Saké'.

'_This is Naruto Uzumaki, Professor Tsunade,' Shizune said to the blonde woman, presenting the boy behind her._

'_Ah,' said the woman, and her expression cleared. She looked immensely interested now. _

'_Hullo,' Naruto mumbled, trying his level best not to let his gaze stray to her intimidating chest._

'_Welcome, Naruto,' Tsunade said warmly. 'I'm sorry I have to skip the formalities, but I'd like to finish this quickly so we can get you downstairs and sorted as soon as possible.'_

'_That's fine,' Naruto said quickly. _

'_Okay then,' she began, reaching behind the desk and pulling out a drawer. She rummaged about before extracting a miniature golden hourglass that was attached to a chain. 'This is a Time-Turner,' she said, holding it out for him. 'It can take you back through time. These are very rare, so I'd like you to use it carefully, and then return it to me at the end of the year.' She handed it to him, along with a scroll. 'The instructions are in there. Wear it wherever you go, and keep it safe. A friend of mine, Hermione, went through a lot of trouble to get that for you.'_

_Naruto nodded and took the two items, handling them carefully. Under the watchful eye of the Headmistress, he slipped the chain around his neck, and then hid the tiny hourglass underneath his robes._

'_Good,' Professor Tsunade said, looking satisfied. She looked down at some notes. 'Ah, yes. Your exams. Due to your…delicate…situation, you will be taking two exams.'_

_At the look of horror on Naruto's face, she held up a hand, making him hold his questions until she was finished speaking. 'You will need to, of course, decide what subjects you are taking. You need only take your OWLs and your sixth-year exams in those subjects.'_

'_Oh,' Naruto said._

'_I've tried to make it as easy as possible, Naruto,' Professor Tsunade said, her eyes sympathetic as they locked on with Naruto's. 'I realize that it must be hard, having no parents and-'_

'_Jiraiya is a great dad,' Naruto interrupted hotly._

'_I'm sure,' Tsunade said soothingly. 'But you're a sixteen-year-old wizard with no training…so I've done my best. Do you think you could decide on your subjects by the end of this week?'_

_Naruto looked slightly overburdened. 'Isn't that…isn't that a little too early?' He asked uncomfortably. 'I mean, this is my future we're talking about.'_

'_I'm sorry,' Tsunade sighed. 'But considering the circumstances, I'll need to have everything organized by this week.'_

_Naruto nodded, resigned. 'Sure. I'll try.'_

'_That's all I'm asking,' Tsunade said, suddenly brisk and all-business. 'Other than that, I think I only have to make sure you realize the importance of keeping that Time-Turner confidential. You'll have to do a lot of sneaking around to make sure you're not spotted at the same time as your past self. Keeping this information a secret will be for your own safety, as well.'_

_Naruto's face fell. 'A secret?'_

'_I'm afraid so,' Tsunade nodded. 'If anyone was to find out, the disasters that could occur as a result could be devastating.'_

'_Oh. Okay.'_

'_Good boy,' Tsunade said, standing up. 'If I need to talk to you again, I'll summon you to my office.'_

'_Okay,' said Naruto, shaking her hand. 'Thank you for everything.'_

'_It was nothing,' she said. 'Shizune, lead him down to the Hall, would you?'_

_Professor Shizune, who had stepped back and watched the exchange, now motioned for Naruto to follow her._

_With one last smile in his new Headmistress' direction, Naruto left._

'You okay, dobe?' Sasuke said concernedly. 'You've been spaced out for a while.'

Naruto snapped out of his reverie. 'Yeah, sorry,' he mumbled, grinning sheepishly and polishing off the piece of turkey that had been dangling off the end of his fork. He surreptitiously ran his left hand along his chest, making sure the Time-Turner was still there, and intact. It was.

Naruto glanced up at the staff table. Professor Tsunade now sat there with the other teachers, on the left of Professor Shizune and right of Professor Kurenai, her eyes trained on him. As soon as he made eye-contact with her, she looked away.

When everyone had very nearly stuffed themselves full, the remains of the food faded away from their plates, leaving them looking as sparkling and new as dew on the end of a fresh mint leaf. A second later, the desserts appeared. Pies, tarts, puddings and ice creams in every flavor imaginable decorated the four long tables, and suddenly the students found that they hadn't quite eaten as much as they would have liked. They dug straight in.

As Naruto spooned some ice cream into his bowl, several girls approached him.

'Hi,' giggled one, wriggling into the space between him and the red head he'd sat next to.

'Um, hi,' Naruto said, pausing. He let his spoon fall back into the bowl.

'I'm Ino,' said the girl, her blonde hair whipping a bewildered Naruto's face as she tossed her head proudly. 'Ino Yamanaka. My father is the owner of Yamanaka Flowers.'

'That's nice,' Naruto said, glancing at Kiba for support. Kiba just shrugged.

Ino looked incredulous. 'Haven't you ever heard of us?'

'No?' Naruto said sheepishly, scratching his head with his left hand.

'Oh.' Ino looked stunned.

'Pig!' The girl that had earlier identified herself as Sakura now stood behind Naruto, glaring at Ino. 'Shouldn't you be at your own house table?'

'Don't call me that, Forehead,' the blonde replied, standing up. She faced Sakura. 'And it seemed fun over here.'

'Whatever, Ino-Pig,' Sakura said, grabbing her hand. 'If you want to sit with the Gryffindors so much, you might as well sit with –' she glanced around, then spotted the pale Hyuuga heiress, '-Hinata!'

Ino rolled her eyes. 'Please, Forehead. Like I so don't know you're after Blondie here.'

Naruto noted with amusement that Itachi's nickname for him seemed quite popular.

'You two.' A cold voice sliced through the friendly, bickering atmosphere between the girls. 'Leave. Now.'

Naruto glanced at his neighbor, from whom the voice had come from. The red-head glared at the girls, daring them to defy him.

Without another word, the two turned on their heel and marched away.

'Cool,' Naruto grinned, turning to face him. 'Hi. My name's Naruto.'

'I know.'

Naruto looked taken aback. 'Oh. Well, are you in Gryffindor too?'

The red-head glared at Naruto like he was stupid.

'Okay, I'll take that as a yes, then,' he muttered, stealing a look at Sasuke. The raven was watching the exchange, his lips pressed into a silent, hard line.

'Teme,' the blonde whispered loudly, 'who _is _this guy?' He made an obvious motion toward the red-head.

'Gaara.'

Sasuke hadn't replied. No, it had been the red-head. Naruto turned to him now, a new-born smile on his face.

'Gaara, huh? Cool name,' he said cheerfully.

Gaara stared at him in stony silence. Naruto continued to beam at him. They stared at each other for a while, before Naruto's smile eventually slipped off his face.

'Hey,' he said, poking his new friend in his ribs. 'What's wrong?'

Silence roared as the people near enough to watch what was going on took a collective gasp of breath. Gaara stared at the new kid, incredulous, but his mask of indifference never slipping.

'I don't like being poked,' he said, his voice deathly silent, so quiet that Naruto had to lean forward to hear.

'Oh. Sorry,' the blonde shrugged.

'Hn.'

'What is with you people?' Naruto said exasperatedly, throwing his hands into the air. 'My god, you're just like the teme!'

The corners of Gaara's lips twitched. 'Teme?'

'Sasuke,' Naruto explained, indicating with his thumb who that was.

Although he didn't smile, Gaara's eyes lit up. They landed on Sasuke's rigid form. 'I see.'

'Dobe,' Sasuke hissed through gritted teeth.

'Don't call me that!'

Gaara watched as the two argued, amused. He hadn't, of course, introduced himself properly to this interesting new blonde. He would have to get to know him better some time. He seemed a fascinating person to observe.

* * *

Just when Naruto was starting to feel warm and sleepy, the puddings disappeared, and Professor Tsunade stood up. The students fell silent.

'Before we all turn in for the night, there a few start-of-term notices I'd like to give you.

'Our new students should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. The only exception to this rule is when a teacher or myself makes special allowances, and not otherwise. This is in the student's best interest.

'Our caretaker, Mr. Zabuza, has asked that you all mind your magic in the corridors between lessons.

'Finally, Quidditch trials will be held next week. Anyone interested in playing for their teams should contact Madam Hooch.'

The other professors at the table stood as Professor Tsunade finished her speech. 'Move along, then. Bedtime.'

Naruto caught sight of the Gryffindor first-years standing and following a quiet, pale-eyed, dark-haired male, whose long locks were secured behind his head in a long ponytail. He stared uncertainly after them. Might he look ridiculous if he, too, followed the pale Gryffindor prefect as a lost puppy would follow after a stranger?

'Hn. Dobe,' said Sasuke. He reached out and plucked on the collar of Naruto's robe. 'Follow me.'

Relief made itself evident on the blonde's features. He immediately grinned at his duck-haired savior, who led him through the doors of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase. Naruto's legs felt like they weighed a ton, but only because he felt so sleepy and full. He didn't notice the several hidden doorways, or count the number of moving staircases they crossed. He barely acknowledged the occasional girls they passed that would shriek something out suddenly, trying to catch his or Sasuke's attention.

Finally, at the end of a very long corridor, they arrived at the portrait of a very fat woman decked in green.

'Password?' she said.

'Padfoot,' said Sasuke, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a circular hole in the wall. Sasuke leapt gracefully into it with ease, then turned and offered a hand to Naruto, who took it gladly. Sasuke heaved him in, and Naruto found himself in a round, cozy room filled with comfortable looking armchairs, and a merry, crackling fire.

Sasuke led Naruto through a door that took them up yet another spiraling staircase. They must be in one of the towers, Naruto tiredly mused. At the very top of the tower was the sixth-year dormitory, with beds for five people.

Naruto wearily stumbled into the room and landed face-first on the very first four-poster bed, which had been hung with scarlet, velvet curtains.

'I'm so tired,' he moaned, hugging a deep-red pillow to his chest.

'Your things are already here, dobe,' Sasuke said. 'Better get changed.' As he spoke, he took off his shirt and reached for his pajama top.

'But I'm so tired, Sasuke,' Naruto whined, his face buried in the pillow, so his voice came out muffled.

Sasuke sighed. 'Naruto. Change.'

Naruto groaned and hefted himself up. He suddenly caught sight of Sasuke's pale, naked torso.

Flames engulfed his face as he blushed to his hair-roots, his earlier weariness entirely forgotten. For reasons unfathomable to him, seeing Sasuke change was embarrassing and, at the same time, a very pleasurable past-time. His nose threatened to bleed as he watched the fabric of Sasuke's blue silk pajamas rustle against his pale skin.

Sasuke caught sight of the tomato-red Naruto. He paused, his arms already through the sleeves, but his body yet to be covered. Then he smirked.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he lowered his pajama top. Inch by delectable inch, it covered him. Naruto unconsciously licked his lips. The, abruptly, Sasuke brought the entire thing down.

Feeling almost indignant, Naruto's eyes snapped to meet Sasuke's, when he promptly realized what had transpired and turned an even darker shade of red. Mumbling about needing to change, he hurriedly grabbed the pajamas lying at the foot of his bed, and then drew the curtains around his four-poster, now refusing to make eye-contact with the raven.

Sasuke chuckled as he changed into his pajama bottoms in an instant, and then tucked himself in.

'Goodnight, dobe.'

Naruto growled inaudibly.

* * *

**Special love to my fave reviewers, for revieweing in more than a single word: FrostyIceCube (You always reveiw first! I love you!), Cadinya, Prauge, Kyorose, Jadej.j, Sangostar and anomie86. Seriously, you guys. If you were cookies, I wouldn't eat you, and instead preserve you in a timeless cookie jar. That's how much I love you. )**

**Sorry if this chapter doesn't have many fluffy parts in it, but a story can't all be fluffiness and joy, you know?**

**Read and Review!**


	7. The Raccoon, the Raven, and the Owl

**I know this is shorter than most chapters, so I'm sorry. But...well, I wanted to end it there. Also, this isn't very fluffy. :( I'd have loved to make it so, but...well, I have to stick with the story line. Your suggestions are always welcome, and I love hearing them, but please, what I DO NOT want is people telling me exactly how this story should have been. I've got the plot down. A few extras here and there is okay, but really. Don't tell me how to do my job. Forgive me if I sound harsh. I'm trying to put this nicely. If you're mentioned down below, you did nothing wrong, and I love you, and I loved your suggestions.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

* * *

When Naruto awoke the next day, the memories of the previous night assaulted him, causing him to muffle a groan into his pillow as he rolled over and hugged it tightly.

_Stupid Sasuke_, he grumbled. _Bloody teme. Freaking stick-up-the-pasty-ass._

When he was done ranting in his head, he rolled over once more, letting the pillow rest on his stomach, and then sighed. It was still extremely early, he knew. There wasn't much sunlight in the room, and he could tell it was dawn. And he was wide awake.

_Jiraiya, _he thought suddenly. _He's probably worried about me. I should let him know I'm okay. _After weighing his limited options, Naruto decided to get up and dressed, then write his mentor a letter.

10 minutes later, the blonde could be found in one of the squishy armchairs in the Gryffindor common room, garbed in form-fitting black jeans and a bright orange t-shirt. His school robe lay draped over the head of the chair, while Naruto remained bent over a piece of parchment that had been carefully place atop his school bag. The last embers of the fire that had roared merrily last night died while the scratching sounds of quill against parchment filled the otherwise silent room.

The blonde didn't notice a pale figure walk silently up behind him, pausing behind him as he watched the boy frown over his letter in concentration.

'Naruto, right?'

Naruto leapt up in fright, taken by surprise, for even though the voice had been fairly soft, it had sounded like a gunshot in the roaring silence of the room. His quill slipped and scraped against the parchment, leaving a long mark that crossed from halfway down the page to left corner. Naruto twisted around, to come face-to-face with the long-haired prefect he'd seen the night before.

'Sorry,' the boy nodded, looking at the parchment. 'Let me fix that.' With a quick wave of his wand over the parchment, Naruto watched as the mark disappeared, leaving the rest of the words intact.

Naruto looked back up from his letter. 'Thanks,' he said, but then added, 'but that was technically your fault anyway, so, I should say, you're forgiven.'

The barely visible smile appeared on the pale boy's features as his eyebrows went slightly up. 'Very kind of you.'

'I know,' said Naruto in mock modesty. 'I try.'

'What are you doing down here this early?' the boy said seriously. 'You should be asleep.'

'Couldn't,' Naruto shrugged. 'Is there a rule against being here in the early morning?'

'There should be,' the boy muttered. 'So, you're Naruto?'

'That's me,' the blonde said, puffing out his chest. 'Who're you?'

'Neji,' he said, offering a hand. 'My boyfriend, Gaara, told me about you.'

'You're Gaara's boyfriend?' Naruto asked, taking the hand and looking at Neji with a new-found interest. 'I didn't know Gaara was gay.'

The hand in his tensed. 'That a problem?'

'My god, no!' Naruto said, looking surprised. 'That would be slightly hypocritical, seeing as I go both ways.'

'Oh,' Neji said, and relaxed. 'Well, then, yeah. I'm his boyfriend.'

'Cool,' Naruto grinned at him.

'So what're you doing?' Neji asked him, nodding at the parchment in Naruto's hands.

'Ah, letter to my dad,' Naruto said. 'I was just signing it when you came in.'

'It looks pretty long,' Neji commented. 'Do you really have that much to say since you saw him last?'

'Yeah, I'm from a non-wizard family, plus this is my first year,' Naruto smiled sheepishly. 'I've written down _everything_.'

'Oh,' Neji said, nodding understandingly.

'So now I'm not sure if I should toss this in the fire and say his name and address, or what.'

Neji looked at him in surprise. 'Why would you do that?'

'Isn't that how floo powder works?'

Neji almost laughed out loud, but held himself in check. Instead, he opted for smirking. 'No. We don't send letters by floo powder.'

'Oh.' Naruto looked visibly disappointed, as though he'd been looking forward to throwing his letter at the dying embers.

'We use owls.'

'Oh!' he said, instantly cheering up. However, just as quickly, he suddenly deflated. 'But I don't have an owl.'

'Easily fixed,' Neji said, moving to the portrait hole. 'Do you have an envelope?' Naruto picked and held up one of the yellow envelopes he had bought in Diagon Alley that he had left on the table. 'Then come on.'

Naruto set his bag down on the floor and hurried after Neji, folding the letter in his hands into quarters as he went.

Neji told Naruto that they were headed to the Owlery, which was at the top of the West Tower. 'There are thousands of owls in there,' he said as he led Naruto up yet another flight of stairs. 'You can choose one to use to send your dad the letter.'

The Owlery was a cold and drafty circular room. Nestled in perches were hundreds of owls of different breeds, most of them asleep, save for a few yellow eyes that glared balefully at them. None of the windows, Naruto could see, had glass in them. Straw and hay were strewn on the ground, along with several clumps of owl droppings. The blonde wrinkled his nose at the smell.

'Which one do I use?' he asked, looking around at the several colors of feathers that surrounded him.

Neji walked over to one small, sleeping owl and picked it up. It fluttered awake and hooted indignantly, but Neji didn't let it escape. He brought the owl to the wary looking blonde.

'Go on,' he prompted, when Naruto just gaped hesitantly at the snow-white bird. 'It won't bite.'

'Are you sure?' Naruto asked cautiously, his arm reaching owl slowly.

'No teeth, remember?' smirked the pale-eyed prefect.

Naruto instantly whipped his hand back. 'Then it won't _peck_?' he asked, irritated.

Neji's smirk grew even wider. 'It won't.'

'It'd better not,' Naruto warned, and then extended his arm out completely. 'Here, birdie. Come to Naruto,' he cooed.

"Birdie" hopped onto Naruto's arm immediately, although it's glare at being woken up never ceased. Naruto sighed with relief, and then watched carefully as Neji took the letter from him and showed him how to attach it to the owl's leg.

'Now just tell him where to go, and he'll take it,' Neji said, leading Naruto to one of the large open windows.

The owl hooted angrily.

'I mean "she",' Neji corrected himself, rolling his eyes at the owl, which fluffed out its feathers and held its head high.

'Um, go to number 7, Blackberry Street, in Breadcove, Surrey,' Naruto told the owl, feeling utterly stupid that he was talking to a bird.

Without a sound, the owl spread its wings and took off through the window. The sun was up now, and Naruto watched the bird till the glare was too much for him, and he turned away.

'You're sure that she'll reach the place?' Naruto asked Neji worriedly as they made their way out.

'Owls have hardly ever gotten the place wrong,' Neji said, as he led the way back to Gryffindor tower.

'Was the address I gave clear enough?'

'Clear as it'll ever be,' Neji said. They reached the Fat Lady, and after Neji gave the password, they stepped through.

Sasuke was standing on the other side, with Kiba pacing next to him.

'Naruto!' Kiba said loudly with relief, and he pounced on the surprised blonde. 'You bloody moron, we were worried sick!'

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, who was staring stonily at Neji, who stared back. 'We?' he asked.

'Sasuke's a cold bastard, but you could tell he was about to pass out,' Kiba grinned and assured him.

'Kiba,' the raven said warningly.

'Where were you, anyway?' Kiba asked while dragging Naruto to the very arm chair the blonde had been sitting in before Neji had led him to the Owlery. 'You left your school bag and robe. I was sure you'd been lost forever in the halls of Hogwarts, never to be seen again!' Kiba ended this theatrical performance by brushing away a fake tear.

'Neji took me to the Owlery, to post a letter,' Naruto shrugged.

'Oh.'

Kiba looked disappointed. You could tell he had expected a much more exciting story. Sasuke, on the other hand, looked pissed. Without another word, he turned and left through the portrait hole, his bag on his shoulder.

'Jeez, what's _his _problem?' Naruto asked, staring after him as the portrait swung shut.

'Aw, you know Sasuke,' Kiba said, waving a hand dismissively. 'He's just acting like the royal pain he is. Hey Neji,' Kiba called out to the prefect, who was heading back up into the dorms. 'Have you seen Gaara? I've been meaning to talk to him.'

'I'll tell him you're looking for him,' Neji said, then disappeared through the doors.

Naruto and Kiba looked at each other and shrugged.

* * *

Down at the Great Hall, Naruto and Kiba made their way up their table until they spotted Hinata, who was sitting next to a very moody looking Sasuke.

'Why so glum, chum?' Naruto said, grinning and dumping his bag underneath the bench and plopping down next to the raven.

Kiba was at Hinata's side in an instant, and one second later, their lips were locked in a passionate embrace.

'It's nothing,' Sasuke sighed, picking at his breakfast. 'I guess I just don't like cereal.'

'I'll finish yours when I'm done,' Naruto offered, slurping down the milk in his cornflakes.

Sasuke threw a puzzled look in the blonde's direction. The dobe was acting completely normal. After last night, he had expected some form of embarrassment, in the very least. It seemed, however, as though he had completely forgotten. Sasuke shook his head. _Stupid dobe_, he thought.

'What?' Naruto suddenly asked, catching Sasuke's curious look. 'Do I have something on my face?'

'As a matter of fact,' a smooth voice interrupted before Sasuke could answer, 'you've got a little milk, right about there.' A pale hand reached out and wiped the edge of Naruto's mouth with en equally pale thumb.

'What the hell?' Naruto said, slapping the hand away. He turned, and came face-to-face with a smirking Gaara. 'Oh, hey Gaara. What's up?'

'Nothing much,' Gaara replied, his green eyes shifting to meet glaring obsidian ones as he maintained his position behind Naruto. 'Why hello there, Sasuke.'

'Captain,' Sasuke said coolly, his eyes ablaze.

Naruto followed the exchange, and a confused expression appeared on his face. 'Captain?'

'Gaara's captain of the Quidditch team,' Neji said, suddenly appearing behind the red-head. 'Sasuke is on the team, too.'

'Really?' Naruto asked excitedly. He knew all about Quidditch. One of the books Jiraiya had gotten him was a brilliant one all about the national wizarding game. He had read the book several times, intrigued. It was like a good old game of football, only way cooler, because it was played on brooms. And if Naruto like football, he _loved _Quidditch. 'What position do you guys play?'

Sasuke looked a tad surprised. 'You know what Quidditch is?'

'Hey, I read,' Naruto informed him. 'Well? What positions?'

'I'm Keeper,' Gaara said. 'Sasuke plays Seeker.'

'Woah,' Naruto said, glancing at Sasuke, impressed.

'It's not a big deal,' muttered Sasuke, returning to poking his cereal with a spoon.

'Hey, Gaara,' Kiba suddenly called out. 'When are tryouts?'

'Next week, Friday.'

'Sweet, I'm so making the team this year,' he said to no one in particular.

Sasuke snorted. 'Good luck with that.'

'Why can't Kiba play?' Naruto asked.

'He's tried out every year since he turned twelve,' Sasuke said. 'And he's never made the team.'

'You wait,' Kiba said, glaring at the Uchiha. 'I'll show you.'

Just then, Shizune walked up to them, shooing Gaara and Neji away. 'Here you go,' she said, handing a piece of paper to Sasuke, Kiba and Hinata. 'These are your timetables.'

'Hey, Professor Shizune,' Naruto said, before she walked on. 'What classes should I go to?'

'Just go to whatever sounds interesting, Naruto,' Shizune said, smiling. 'Make sure you've been in all the classes at least once during the week, so you can choose which subjects you want.'

Naruto nodded to show he'd understood, and Shizune walked on.

'Ugh, double potions with Asuma,' Kiba groaned, looking at his sheet.

Sasuke hadn't touched his sheet, having just returned to staring at his cereal as it grew soggier and soggier.

'Oh, hey, Sasuke, isn't Itachi your brother?' Kiba suddenly asked, frowning at his timetable.

Sasuke's head snapped up so quickly, his neck cricked. 'What?'

'Here, he's teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts,' the shaggy-haired boy said, pointing at his paper.

Sasuke snatched up his timetable and stared at it. He growled. 'Shit,' he cursed.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so the real reason this is short is because...wait for it...IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW! 17th October, people! So I'm trying to finish all the work on my hands, so I don't have to worry about anything.**

**As always, much love to the reviewers. That last chapter got way more reviews that I've ever thought I'd get. I love you all so much. Special love to my faves: SangoStar, FrostyIceCube (So how'd those essays go?), Jadej.j, anomie86, Kyorose (it was him! It was! Congrats, you figured it out first!), bluegirlami21, Prauge(I'll mention Ino's house in another chap, k?), bellandedwardLS, Plain Jane Is A Vampire, sasukexnaruto4ever, cardcaptor111, StainedGlassCuts, Narutofan4ev, Bloodypassion, Glittering Cyan Wings, and Eovin. **

**Thank you to all the people who put this on your Story Alerts as well, and put this story on your Fave Stories, and added it to your C2s. There are so many of you, I'd write down all your names, but its so, so very much...but anyway, I love you guys too.**

**Spread the love! Read and Review!**


	8. At Breakfast, Lunch and Supper

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

* * *

The students of Hogwarts separated discreetly as a furious raven marched down the halls, so that his pathway was clear. A few wondered what would happen if they were to bravely attempt to step in his path, but none bothered to try. Many agreed that it wasn't worth the risk.

The murderously black aura surrounding him, though, was punctured with bits of sunshine yellow. If one were to look closely, they would see that Sasuke's control was just barely simmering under the surface, but held in check by the cheerful blonde strutting next to him.

'I can't believe no one told me that Itachi was going to be a teacher at Hogwarts,' Naruto said conversationally to Kiba, who had Defense Against the Dark Arts first lesson as well. 'You'd think, being Sasuke's brother, someone would have thought it worth mentioning.'

Sasuke snarled in agreement. He wanted, very badly, to scream and throw something at someone. It didn't matter who that someone was, as long as he had fathomless black eyes, long black hair, and the legendary Uchiha smirk. Sasuke wouldn't have minded throwing something at a mirror, if it weren't for his, as Naruto put it, 'duck butt' hair.

But Sasuke didn't let any of this show. On the one hand, years of being sculpted as the perfect Uchiha didn't allow him to. On the other, Naruto was so bloody oblivious to his discomfort, and he didn't want to be the one to wipe that stupid, happy grin off the dobe's face.

They were on the first floor now, and within minutes, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom came storming into view. A very smug looking Itachi stood outside it, leaning against the doorframe casually, as he observed the little charade led by the youngest Uchiha approached.

'Little brother,' he nodded, acknowledging Sasuke's presence, but with a smirk that seemed to be permanently fixed to his face.

'Itachi,' Sasuke replied coldly. 'A word, if you please?'

'It can wait till later, Sasuke,' Itachi said in a sickeningly pleasant voice, holding the door open. 'Now, if you would please get yourselves seated.'

They were the first to have reached the classroom, by the looks of it. Sasuke glared daggers at his brother, but stalked into the room and sat huffily in a corner at the back.

'Hi, Itachi!' Naruto said brightly. Sasuke's head turned a fraction of an inch to watch out of the corner of his eye. He was still fuming, but not enough not to be interested in the goings on.

'Blondie!' Itachi said, sounding genuinely pleased to see him. 'And how did your first night at Hogwarts go? You're a Gryffindor?'

'Yup,' Naruto said proudly, puffing out his chest.

'Ah, such a traitorous little one,' Itachi sighed dramatically. 'I was in Slytherin, in my day. So was everyone else in my family, except for that little black sheep over there.'

Sasuke stiffened as Itachi nodded in his direction. So he was the black sheep of the family, was he?

'What's wrong with being in Gryffindor?' Naruto frowned.

'Oh, nothing at all,' Itachi assured him. 'I was just hoping you'd have gone to my house, is all.'

'Oh.'

The rest of the class was filling in, so Itachi winked at Naruto, then swept impressively into the classroom. There wasn't anything particularly noticeable about it, being filled with desks and chairs, much like any other learning environment. An iron chandelier hung above them, looking particularly morbid with its rusted chains and dim yellow glow. Itachi now stood at the front, surveying his new class. Naruto hurried forward and slipped into a chair next to Kiba, who was right in front of Sasuke.

'Welcome,' Itachi began smoothly. He stood in front of the blackboard with his hands behind his back, head held high as his eyes searched every one of the student's faces. If Naruto didn't know any better, he'd say that Itachi was reading their innermost thoughts. 'My name is Itachi Uchiha.' As he said this, a piece of white chalk levitated behind him and grated across the board, so that his name was now scrawled across it. The students winced as the board shrieked with every scratch. 'I shall be your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor as of now. And as I expect nothing lower than an E grade in your NEWTs, I suggest you start taking notes this instant.'

When the class just gaped at him, an eyebrow rose dangerously. 'Did you not hear me?'

Chairs scraped against the floor as the students hurriedly pushed back and yanked at their bags, pulling out parchment, quills, and bottles of ink.

Sasuke, while in not as much of a hurry as the others, did take out his books, albeit slowly. He wasn't going to hinder his learning, of that much he was determined, but he was equally decided that no one – _no one_ – was going to make him move faster than he wanted to. He'd do everything on his own time.

If Itachi noticed his brother's agonizingly slow pace, he didn't comment.

'Professor?'

A hand had shot up into the air. A familiar blue-eyed blonde girl stared at Itachi expectantly.

'Yes, Miss…?'

'Ino Yamanaka,' the girl supplied.

'Yes, Miss Yamanaka?'

'I was just wondering,' she said, looking genuinely curious, 'if you had any idea what happened to our previous Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Orochimaru?'

Itachi smiled, his teeth gleaming in the dim glow. It seemed as though he had waited for someone to ask this very question.

'Orochimaru,' he began, and everyone noticed how he purposefully stressed the name without the _professor_ in it, 'may have been involved in some…_unpleasant_…dealings, but it cannot be proved. He would have been shipped off to Azkaban, of course, but he does seem to have quite a number of friends in the Ministry, so instead, he's taking up a post where they can keep an eye on him, within the Ministry for Magic.'

'What did he do?' Ino asked eagerly.

'I'm afraid I cannot say,' Itachi said delicately. 'But it involved some offense to me, so I was offered his post as a professor, and frankly, this job pays better.'

Sasuke's full attention was now on his brother. So Orochimaru had done something, had he? Of course, the raven knew only too well how eager his old snake-loving professor had been to get his hands on the Uchiha fortune. Much as it pained him to admit it, Orochimaru was related to the Uchihas, but only through marriage of their ancestors several years ago. Apparently, according to the intricately weaved relations between them, and the fact that all other Uchihas were dead, once Itachi and Sasuke were deceased, Orochimaru had a claim to the money.

But why work? Sasuke thought, frustrated. They had, as had been pointed out numerous times before, several vaults full of Galleons at Gringotts. The only work Itachi would have to do, should he choose to stay at home and live a full life, would be the occasional Apparition to empty the vault a bit more for his living expenses. Even then, there'd be enough left for both Sasuke _and _any offspring the two brothers might bear.

Not that Sasuke would ever have any kids, the raven thought drily. He wasn't even bi. He was gay. No way would he be able to sire any children.

The point, in any case, was that Itachi didn't _need _to be here, didn't _need _to work at Hogwarts and worst of all, he didn't _need _to be in such close proximity to his younger brother for the rest of the whole, god-damned, bloody year.

_There are quirks,_ the tiny voice in his head piped up. _This means you're guaranteed teacher's pet._

_Yeah, right, _thought Sasuke, refraining from snorting out loud. _With my luck, Itachi will probably force me to be his student lackey. _

_Probably_, the voice agreed glumly.

While Sasuke was engrossed in this internal battle with himself, Naruto was studiously taking notes. The blonde was thrilled. The musty scent of the room, the dim lighting, the soothingly mixture of the sounds of his classmates' soft breathing and scrapes of their quills against parchment, were all enthralling his senses. His first real lesson in the magical world!

Itachi had decided to start off the first lesson by merely listing down their syllabus for that year, in terms of defensive spells. It was all in their N.E.W.T standard textbook: _Confronting the Faceless. _Naruto was thrilled to find that he knew almost every single one of the spells, and he knew the exact wand movement as well. He'd practiced, as Jiraiya had made him, with an old branch, and while he hadn't been able to make so much as a spark appear, he did get the hang of the correct movements. Naruto knew that he must have made some mistakes, but surely he couldn't be that far off.

The bell suddenly rang, startling the quiet atmosphere and making Naruto nearly jump out of his seat. Had it already been an hour? Time had really flown by.

'Naruto,' Itachi called over the scuffle of students shoveling their things into their bags. 'A word, if you please.'

Naruto slung his bag onto his shoulder and made his way to the front of the class, wondering why Itachi wanted to see him. He didn't notice Sasuke's suspicious eyes following him carefully.

'Yes?' he said, reaching the desk Itachi was standing behind.

'Blondie,' Itachi said, dropping his voice, 'why don't you drop by my office with Sasuke, for supper? I need to talk to you both.'

'Why?' Naruto asked, confused.

Itachi stood straighter, the legendary smirk now firmly in place. 'Just be there,' he said. 'It'll be worth it, I promise.'

'Okay.'

As Naruto turned to leave, Itachi's hand reached out and snagged the end of his robe. 'Blondie,' Itachi said, his eyes narrowing, 'did anything happen last night? Between you and my brother?'

Blood rushed to Naruto's cheeks as he turned his face away. How had Itachi known? Naruto hadn't forgotten last night…far from it. He had done everything in his power to push that embarrassing scene from his head. But had it been embarrassing, really? Naruto wondered. All Sasuke had done was pull down his pajama top, and Naruto, being the great big prat that he was, had blushed, prompting that insufferable smirk.

And the blonde was reminded of that smirk once more, as it made itself known on Itachi's face. He seemed to have taken Naruto's silence as an assent to his question.

Bloody brothers.

'My little brother seems to be awaiting your presence,' Itachi said, nodding at the door with his self-righteous grin firmly in place. 'I shall die in a few minutes, I think, if I kept you from him any longer.'

Not even wanting to ponder the meaning of that sentence, Naruto hurried out the door and toward a hesitant looking raven.

* * *

'So,' Naruto said casually, as he swallowed his last mouthful of chicken. 'Itachi invited me to supper tonight.'

The pumpkin juice Sasuke had been drinking while listening to the blonde dobe sprayed across the table, straight into Kiba's face.

'WHAT THE HELL?' two voices roared. One was Kiba's, furious at being spat at on his face, while the other was a disturbingly livid Sasuke.

'You're invited too,' Naruto hastily interjected before Sasuke could yell. 'He told me after class today, that he wanted to see me.'

Sasuke, still breathing hard, took a calming sip of juice. It didn't escape his notice that several people leaned away from him.

'Am I the only one who sees this?' Kiba asked angrily, gesticulating wildly at his juice-sodden robe. 'Will someone please tell me why I am fucking soaking in Pasty Panties' bloody drink?'

Hinata was attempting to make peace, dabbing at Kiba's enraged face, which only served to anger him even further as he pushed her away.

'I'll pay for a new robe,' Sasuke said coldly.

'And you'll get it delivered here, I suppose?' Kiba sneered. Clearly, he was in no mood to think rationally.

'Obviously.'

Naruto grinned. If Sasuke was thinking about Kiba, and not him, surely that meant he wasn't as angry as he looked. His mind wandered back to that morning, a few minutes after a sputtering Sasuke had discovered who their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was.

* * *

'_Itachi,' Sasuke said in disbelief, shaking his head. 'Itachi!'_

_A package dropped in front of them just then, sending a fork clattering to the ground. Naruto looked at it in surprise. Where had that come from?_

_He got his answer a moment later, when the sun suddenly seemed to duck behind a cloud, but was actually, Naruto discovered upon looking up, hidden behind a mass of feathers._

_Black, brown, white, and even blue owls swept across the Great Hall, bearing letters and packages that they seemed to be dropping in front of several students, and even a few members of staff. _

'_What in the world is happening?' Naruto asked in amazement._

_Sasuke remained mute, but Kiba answered for him. 'Owls deliver post.'_

'_I know that,' Naruto said, rolling his eyes. 'I sent a letter this morning. But what's…_this_?' Seemingly lost for words, Naruto indicated the throng of birds swooping above them._

'_Every morning, if there is a package to be delivered, the owls do it at breakfast,' Hinata explained. 'It saves them from having to look through the entire school for a student, and it maintains a certain order. Basically, this is how we get our letters.'_

_Naruto nodded, still staring incredulously as each owl successfully delivered their packages to the respective students. Their precision was mind-boggling. Who knew birds could be so useful?_

_His mind felt suddenly at ease. Maybe Jiraiya would get that letter he sent after all._

* * *

'Why didn't you mention this earlier?' Sasuke asked suddenly, interrupting Naruto's thoughts.

'Couldn't find the right time,' Naruto shrugged. Then he suddenly turned his baby-blues onto the raven, full wattage. He knew he could never be denied when he was like this. 'Are you mad at me?'

Sasuke gulped. Naruto's eyes were big, blue, and pleading. He could have sworn, in that moment, that no human being on the face of this earth…scratch that, no _being _on the face of this earth, could have told Naruto that they were pissed, no matter how true it was. 'No,' he said harshly, then grabbed his glass and gulped down its contents hurriedly.

Naruto grinned. Sasuke, having set his glass down, paused to stare at the blonde.

Suddenly, Naruto was very aware of the raven's presence. His heart thrummed faster as he felt himself pinned under that onyx gaze of his. Who had been staring down whom?

Sasuke was slowly leaning closer. Naruto, as if pulled by some unseen force, moved forward as well, his gaze locked onto soft, kissable looking lips. He could almost taste Sasuke's breath, they were so close.

'Sasuke!'

The spell was instantly broken. Both boys pulled away from each other awkwardly, looking away. Sasuke mentally kicked himself. He had been so close. If only he'd moved faster-

'Sasuke!'

The raven nearly groaned. He knew that voice.

Ino.

'Neji told Shikamaru, who told me, that you'll be at team practices this weekend?'

Sasuke sighed. If Ino knew that Sasuke was going to try out for the team again, then her whole house, Ravenclaw, knew. And if there was one thing Sasuke hated, it was intelligent girls that could corner him in any godforsaken place. They were too smart for his own good, in his opinion.

'Yes,' he said, defeated. No point in lying to her. Gaara would only be too happy to rat out his favourite Seeker.

'Brilliant, I'll see you then,' Ino said brightly.

Naruto was feeling slightly disgruntled as he listened to this conversation. Why on earth did Ino have to be so forward with Sasuke? Surely he didn't like her approaches?

Naruto stole a glance at the raven. He looked down. Of course, that might be because of his impending supper with his brother tonight. Naruto chose to think it was because of Ino, though.

'Naruto!' Ino greeted cheerily. 'Will you be trying out too?'

It took all of Naruto's effort to grin at her. He didn't think he had ever disliked anyone so much. Well, except maybe for those bullies who'd wanted a blanket party. 'I don't think so,' he said to Ino. 'I don't know a lot about flying.'

'Well, it's easy,' Ino said, waving a hand dismissively. 'I'll tell you what, meet me on the grounds tonight, and I'll show you how to fly.'

Naruto was tempted. Oh, how he was tempted! To be able to fly…the feeling must be amazing. But he had dinner with Itachi tonight.

'I'll teach him how to fly.' Sasuke's icy voice cut through like a knife. 'You'll not be needed, Ino.'

'Oh.'

'Sorry,' Naruto said sheepishly. 'I'm busy tonight, anyway.'

He felt slightly bad as he watched Ino walk back to the Ravenclaw table. But still. He had lessons with Sasuke! He had no idea why that made him feel so thrilled, but he was.

The bell rang just then, signaling the end of lunch.

'Come on,' Sasuke said, rising. 'Let's go.'

And they were off to their next class.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes! I love you all!**

**I shan't be mentioning my favourite reviewers from here on out, mainly because there are too many of you. Please don't let that stop you from reviewing. I love you all anyway! If I'm really, super pleased with your review, I'll drop you a line.**

**So anyway, thanks for following the story so far!**

**Review, please!**


	9. Moonlight and Mayhem

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

* * *

The rest of the day passed by fairly quickly, and before they knew it, Naruto and Sasuke were heading down to Itachi's office.

Their footsteps echoed against the cold marble floor as they walked, the only noise in the eerily quiet second-floor corridor. The lack of voices was disconcerting. It wasn't that they were trying to avoid talking to each other…rather, they had nothing to say.

'So…how was your Arithmancy class?' Naruto asked a little desperately, trying to fill the awkward silence. Earlier that day, Naruto had had a choice: follow Sasuke to his Arithmancy class or Kiba to his Divination one. Arithmancy sounded too tedious to even think about, so naturally, Naruto had opted for the latter.

Sasuke, who was walking just a step in front, glanced at him, his brow cocked. 'Hn.'

Opportunity! Naruto leapt at the chance to tease him. 'Aw, no,' he fake-groaned. 'Don't tell me we're back to the monosyllables?'

A shadow of a smile appeared on Sasuke's face, before just as quickly disappearing. He enjoyed bickering with the blonde just as much as…well, he enjoyed it. 'Shut up, dobe,' he said, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

'Teme,' Naruto murmured, starting to grin.

'How was _your _class?' Sasuke surprised him by asking. 'Divination?'

'Kiba's an ass for choosing that,' Naruto scowled. Divination had turned out to be a disaster. Naruto had seen absolutely nothing worthwhile in his teacup. Kiba had seen dogs, balls and bones, all of which apparently meant something. Naruto, on the other hand, hadn't been able to make head or tail of the blob of dregs at the bottom of his cup. 'I am sure as hell never taking that subject.'

Sasuke nodded wisely. 'Good choice.'

The silence enveloped them again. Sasuke was starting to feel as awkward as the blonde. He had never been at a loss for words before – he had just never had to talk before, Sasuke reflected drily.

'So what were you saying earlier today, about flying lessons?'

Sasuke threw a startled glance in his direction. He hadn't forgotten, of course. He'd just felt, later on that day, that he may have been a bit too overbearing on Naruto. Most of his day was spent worrying that the dobe would approach him and firmly tell him that he didn't want to be taught by a cold ice-princess bastard like Sasuke. Although, to be fair, Sasuke hadn't thought Naruto would use those exact words.

'You said you'd teach me?' Naruto offered with a slightly hopeful look in his eye.

Sasuke nodded. 'If- If you'd like,' he said, trying to be indifferent, cursing himself for stammering.

Naruto nodded vigorously. 'That'd be _awesome_, Sasuke! Flying! Is it hard? I mean, it can't be for you, you're on the team and all that, but was it hard when you started out? I bet-'

'Blondie.' Itachi stood at the entrance to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, the famous smirk lodged in place. He observed the two with a raised eyebrow, an amused expressions playing on the planes of his face. His dark robe swished as he spun around wordlessly and led them into the room.

Naruto and Sasuke followed, the former having fallen silent immediately after having been interrupted, the latter feeling resigned to whatever the Gods had planned.

The room, Naruto noticed, faced south. The Lake and a pitch could be seen from the window on the far side of the room. A little light spilled in from said window, although it was already well past six o' clock.

On the desk in front of the window, a small supper fit for ten people had been set. Naruto was impressed. Cucumber, ham, and pumpkin sandwiches, pumpkin juice, and even a large treacle tart were laid before them. Three golden goblets were next to the jug of pumpkin juice, along with three golden plates.

'What did you want to talk about?' Sasuke asked with an edge in his voice. The blonde glanced at him. He was glaring at his older brother, although not very heatedly.

'Sasuke,' Itachi said seriously, 'eat first. This may take a while.'

Sasuke seemed momentarily stumped by the solemn tone his brother had used. He reached out to the table, and then hesitatingly took a sandwich. He took a cautious bite. When he was done with it, he washed it down with pumpkin juice. 'Done.'

Itachi looked like he was restraining himself from rolling his eyes with difficulty. 'Do you want to eat?' he asked, turning to Naruto.

'Not hungry,' Naruto shrugged. And it was true. With the tension in the room, the last thing on his mind at that moment was eating. He knew his refusal would come back to haunt him later on that night, but right now, he couldn't care less.

'Sit,' Itachi sighed, motioning with his head to two chairs in front of the table. He himself moved and sat at the head of his desk, eyeing the two as they gingerly seated themselves.

After a moment of silence, during which the boys assumed Itachi was gathering his thoughts, Itachi allowed himself to speak. 'This morning, in class, I mentioned Orochimaru.'

Sasuke sat up straighter. The snake-bastard. Of course.

'What I didn't mention,' Itachi continued, 'was what he did, for me to be offered this post.'

'He was after our money?' Sasuke guessed.

'Naturally,' Itachi said. 'And he nearly succeeded.'

Naruto's interest increased tenfold.

'If either Sasuke or I pass on to the next world,' Itachi told Naruto, 'Orochimaru will get our gold. Or if we choose to give it to him ourselves, but that'll never happen.'

'Exactly who is Orochimaru?' Naruto asked. 'And why on earth would _he _get your fortune if you guys died?'

'Our old Defense Against the Dark Arts professor,' Sasuke said. 'He's related to the Uchihas.'

'Oh.' Comprehension dawned on Naruto's face. 'So what did he do, that made you get this job?'

Itachi told him, his eyes never leaving his face. 'About a few days after I met you, I had decided to go down south to visit an old friend. It seems as though Orochimaru has been tracking my movements. Before I knew it, I was cornered down a dark old alley, faced by Dementors.'

Naruto's eyes widened. He knew what a Dementor was, having done all that reading. He never, _ever _wanted to meet one of those faceless creatures.

Sasuke leaned forward. 'Why didn't you tell me of this?' Sasuke hissed at his brother, eyes narrowed.

'You didn't need to know,' Itachi said, waving a hand dismissively. 'At any rate, my patronus managed to ward the Dementors off long enough for me to get away. I escaped. I never did manage to visit that friend,' he added.

'Itachi!'

'Right, sorry,' Itachi said, although not looking like it. 'Anyway, I had a _very _powerful position in the Ministry. I used all my sources to get Orochimaru arrested, because I _knew _it was him. But he managed to cover his tracks up well. We got some incriminating stuff, but not enough to persecute him. The Ministry chose to overlook this.

'So I talked to Professor Tsunade. She thought it was him, too. She believed me. Since she handles the school without any interference from the Ministry, she fired him. What could the Ministry do about it? Then she offered his old post to me. Naturally, I took it.

'Orochimaru now works as a school governor. Tsunade had no say over that. He is entitled to visit the school whenever he sees fit.'

'I feel like I'm in some sort of cheesy cop show,' Naruto muttered, although looking intrigued.

Itachi smirked. 'And that, little ones, is why I summoned you here tonight. To tell you how I came to be here.' His smile grew wider – but no less evil-looking – at the disgruntled expressions on the "little ones'" faces. 'So now you know.'

'What was the point of telling me, though?' Naruto wondered aloud.

'I have a feeling you'll be involved, Blondie,' Itachi said, eyeing his brother suddenly. Sasuke tugged at the collar of his robe, feeling a little hot under the scrutiny. 'Soon.'

Naruto finally began to look as worried as the situation warranted. 'Me?'

'You,' Itachi confirmed. 'You needn't worry, of course. The Uchihas will protect you.'

'From _what_?' Naruto asked, frustrated. 'How did _I _get pulled into all of this?'

Itachi shrugged. 'You'd best hurry along now,' he said, standing to shoo them out. 'I'll see you tomorrow.'

Naruto looked extremely reluctant, but Itachi ushered him out. Sasuke had stood up when his brother did, but waited for Itachi to re-enter the room.

'How is he involved?' Sasuke asked in a low voice as soon as Itachi came back in to drag him out as well. 'Is Naruto in danger?'

Itachi looked at Sasuke for a long moment. 'Sasuke, while I was at the Ministry, I ran into an old friend of my ex-boss, Hermione Granger Weasley.'

Sasuke looked a bit lost. 'And?'

'She was having tea with one Sibyll Trelawney,' Itachi continued. 'When I was introduced, I was told that Hermione, for the majority of her time spent at Hogwarts, believed that this lady was a fraud. But now, she feels that this old professor of hers may in fact be the real deal. Miss Trelawney is a Seer.'

Sasuke paled. He had a feeling he knew what was coming. 'What did she tell you?' he whispered.

'Long story short, Blondie's in for the ride of his life,' Itachi said tiredly. 'And she doesn't know the outcome. All she knows is that his life is in danger.'

Cold fear gripped Sasuke. 'How soon?'

'Oh, he'll be alright for a few months, I'm sure,' Itachi said, resuming his seat at the desk. 'But whatever it is, it involves us, and you, in particular.'

'You want me to keep away from him?' Sasuke asked heatedly.

'Good heavens, no!' Itachi said. 'I'd prefer you next to him, really, to watch his back.'

Silence fell between the brothers. They held each other's gaze for what felt like an eternity, before a rough pounding interrupted them.

'Oi!' Naruto's voice yelled. 'It's cold out here, teme! Get your arse out here, right now!'

'Don't keep him waiting,' Itachi said. He then swiveled his chair around so that his back was to Sasuke, and he was looking out the large window, at the lake.

Sasuke nodded, even though Itachi couldn't see him, and headed for the door. As his hand touched the bronze door knob, his brother's voice halted him.

'I wouldn't keep him in the dark about your feelings if I were you, Sasuke.'

Sasuke twisted the knob and left the room.

* * *

Naruto shoveled more pie into his mouth.

'You'll choke if you don't slow down, Naruto,' Hinata admonished in a motherly fashion. 'For heaven's sake, chew.'

'Sogh,' Naruto said through a mouthful of pie.

'He said sorry,' Kiba translated lazily, being extremely fluent in the language of the Full Mouths.

Sasuke silently spooned his last bit of soup into his mouth. After coming down to the Great Hall, Naruto had been delighted to find that they hadn't been gone all that long. Dinner was still in progress, and there was plenty left for them. He had dragged Sasuke to the Gryffindor table immediately, and upon locating Kiba, plonked himself comfortably on the bench and started stuffing his mouth.

'Argh!'

Naruto spat all of his food onto the table, much to the disgust of his neighbors, who instantly moved away, save Sasuke.

'Ugh, what was that for, Naruto?' Kiba said, watching from across the table. 'I swear to God, you and Sasuke ought to form some sort of team, you guys are so unpredictable.'

'I felt something cold, just now,' Naruto frowned. 'As in, _freezing _cold. It was like…it was like, it went through my stomach, and then, disappeared. Is that normal in Hogwarts?'

'Afraid not,' said a new voice.

Naruto looked to his right. 'Argh!' he yelled for the second time that night.

'So sorry, didn't mean to frighten you,' said a silver-skinned man with merry, dancing eyes. He was dressed in what must have been the height of fashion around 500 years ago. 'Are you alright?'

'Hey there, Nick!' Kiba greeted cheerfully. 'Didn't see you at the feast last night. Where were you?'

'The Bloody Baron gave us the longest and most lamenting speech he has given in all his existence,' Nick replied jovially, looking at the crowd around him. 'Couldn't get away, although most of us tried. Even Peeves had to stay. He just finished a minute ago.'

Naruto was leaning into Sasuke, who was on his left. 'Teme,' he whispered, 'is that a ghost?'

'Of course I'm a ghost!' Nick said, overhearing him and grinning. 'Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, better known in these parts as Nearly Headless Nick, at your service.'

'Naruto Uzumaki,' Naruto mumbled.

'Ah, you're the famous Naruto, are you?' Nick said with an interested expression, bending closer. Naruto instantly leaned further away – which led to him leaning even more into Sasuke. Sasuke gritted his teeth and held onto his self control. It wouldn't do to grab the stupid dobe and kiss the stuffing out of him, now would it?

'I suppose so,' Naruto said in answer to Nearly Headless Nick's question.

'Come now, don't tell me you're afraid of me?' Nick asked, genuinely surprised. 'What can I do? I can't even touch you!'

Sasuke felt Naruto relax slightly. He wasn't sure if he was happy Naruto was reassured or not.

'Ah, don't mind Nick, he's as harmless as a Flobberworm,' Kiba said, grinning toothily. 'Aren't you, Nick?'

'Of course not!' Nick spluttered. 'I'll have you know I can be quite dangerous when I want to be.'

'Of course you are,' Kiba said patronizingly.

'Once again, you display your lack of tact with remarkable proficiency,' Nick said, holding his head up high. 'Heaven knows why Miss Hyuuga still chooses to be seen in your company.'

Naruto was starting to get involved in the conversation. 'She balances him out,' he said jokingly, although his body was still inclined toward Sasuke. 'She's the brain to his braw…well, she's the brain.'

Nearly Headless Nick laughed. 'I like you, Mr. Uzumaki.'

Naruto's fears were instantly wiped away. He beamed at the ghost. 'Likewise, I'm sure.'

'Dobe,' Sasuke said, redirecting the blonde's attention to himself. 'I'm free tonight. Would you like to learn how to fly?'

'Brilliant!' Naruto exclaimed happily. He gulped down his juice in one go, and then slammed the goblet back down on the table. 'Let's go!'

Sasuke allowed a small smile of victory. He then pushed his food away and grabbed his bag. 'Come on then.'

And they left the Great Hall, one trailing the other, both looking decidedly please with the turn of events.

* * *

The Quidditch pitch was huge. Naruto gaped in awe at the large, oval-shaped pitch, which, according to _Quidditch Through The Ages_, was 500 feet long and 180 feet wide, and had a small central circle, about 10 feet in diameter. At each end stood three goal posts, each of which were different in height from its neighbors. There was also a 180 foot-long line mid-field. The field looked really cool in the moonlight, with the full moon the only means of illuminating the pitch.

'Before I teach you how to play Quidditch,' Sasuke said, interrupting Naruto's train of thought, 'I'm, quite obviously, teaching you how to fly. What do you know so far?'

Naruto looked at Sasuke's broom nervously. It was terrifyingly beautiful, with its sleek black handle made of ashwinder ash, and the words _Firebolt 3000 _emblazoned on it. He had seen this exact broom in a window in Diagon Alley, and it had boasted to be the best of this century so far, exceedingly more impressive than the old _Firebolt 2005_ that had preceded it.

'Dobe?'

'Not much,' Naruto replied, in answer to Sasuke's previous question. 'Just that it'll jump into my hand if I say "Up".'

'That's kid's play,' Sasuke snorted, waving a dismissive hand. 'No one ever does that. We usually grab our brooms and just walk onto the pitch.'

'Then I don't know anything so far,' Naruto shrugged.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. 'Come here,' he said. When Naruto hesitantly approached, he swung his leg over his broom. 'Get in front of me.'

'You're riding _with _me?' Naruto asked in wide-eyed surprise.

'You think I'm letting you on this thing on your own, just so you can kill yourself?' Sasuke glared at him. 'Just get on.'

Naruto put a leg over the broom, just as he had seen Sasuke do, so that he was positioned in front of the raven. Sasuke slipped his hands around his waist and held onto the handle in front, leaning forward as he did so. Naruto was suddenly very aware of Sasuke's presence behind him. Sasuke's strong, firm chest, pressing into his back. The raven's scent of pinewood, and something else Naruto couldn't identify, nearly overwhelmed him.

Sasuke coughed discreetly, hoping the blonde couldn't hear his erratically beating heart. 'This okay?' he asked gruffly.

'I-I'm fine,' Naruto said, cursing himself for stammering. Feelings he couldn't begin to describe were swirling around in the pit of his stomach, and he studiously tried to ignore them. For heaven's sake! This was Sasuke! He shouldn't be feeling anything. The guy was hot, there was no denying that, but…but he was so…

'On the count of three,' Sasuke unknowingly interrupted him, 'I am going to kick off. I want you to lift your legs to grip the side of the broom, okay? We'll be in the air for a few seconds, and then back down. You're not afraid of heights, are you?'

'Of course not!' Naruto felt indignant enough to answer.

'Then 1, 2…3!'

Sasuke kicked off from the ground, and Naruto instinctively lifted his legs. Sasuke leaned forward slightly, and then cursed himself for doing so, because he had accidentally buried himself in Naruto's unruly mop of hair. And he liked it there. He used every ounce of his willpower not to inhale deeply and startle the blonde.

Once they were parallel with the ground, about 10 feet or so in the air, the broom came to a stop, hovering. Naruto was thrilled. He wasn't the least bit afraid.

'Do you want to go down now?'

'No!' Naruto said hastily.

Sasuke smirked, despite himself. 'Direct the broom, then,' he instructed. 'Shift the handle in the direction you want the broom to go. Tilt up if you want to go up, down if you want to go down. It's easy.'

Naruto's grip on the handle tightened. He shifted the broom upward slightly. They didn't move, although Naruto did slide down a little, further into Sasuke.

'Lean forward,' Sasuke said.

Naruto did, and the broom took off. Naruto let out an exhilarated whoop of joy, and Sasuke tightened his grip on the blonde slightly, hoping he wouldn't notice. He rather liked holding him.

And they were off, zooming across the pitch, Sasuke occasionally steering when Naruto went too high or too low. The wind blew past Naruto's face, whipping his hair into Sasuke's cheek, but neither minded.

'Dobe,' Sasuke said loudly, over the whistling of the wind, 'is it alright if I put my head on your shoulder? I can't see from back here.'

It was a lie, of course. Sasuke could see fine, if he leaned a bit more the right. Naruto was oblivious to this, though, being still engrossed with the feeling of raw excitement that was pumping through his veins.

'Sure,' he called over his shoulder.

Sasuke instantly rested his head on Naruto's shoulder, feeling immensely satisfied with how the lesson was turning out.

Naruto realized, all of a sudden, that he could feel Sasuke's breath on his ear. His heartbeat increased dramatically, and he gripped the broom tighter as they swerved a little.

'Woah!' Sasuke said, taking control of the broom. 'Easy there. Do you want to stop, now?'

Naruto silently nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak.

Sasuke gently led the broom into a downward spiral, coming a stop a foot above the grass of the pitch. 'There we go,' he said, dismounting. 'That was pretty good for your first time, dobe. I think you may just be a natural.'

Naruto hurriedly stepped off the broom as well. 'You think so?' he managed to croak.

Sasuke nodded. 'Come on. Let's get back to the dormitories before Neji catches us out this late.'

'When will we be able to fly again?' Naruto asked quickly.

He didn't want to do it because of Sasuke. He _didn't_.

'Tomorrow,' Sasuke said, hiding his smirk in the shadows as he turned away from Naruto. 'We'll fly again tomorrow.'

* * *

**A/N: Thanks again for all your reviews. I'm feeling so loved. =)**

**So, this is up a fortnight after the last chapter. I know I generally take a week to update, but this might happen sometimes as well, depending on how nice my superiors feel (By superiors, I mean teachers, parents, and all others who control my life. -_-).**

**And, oh look! I've included a fluffy little bit on brooms in the moonlight! *Sigh* Looks like the fluff bunny bit me again. This is for all you wonderful reviewers who wanted more fluff.**

**Read and Review, please!**


	10. In Their Sunday Best

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

* * *

The rest of the week flew by. Naruto attended all the different classes, even going to few he really liked twice. By the end of the week, he knew what subjects he would be taking, and was ready for Tsunade. He'd also been surprised to learn that he was very much considered a catch in the school; several girls tended to giggle and blush when he sent a cheerful hello their way in the corridors, which was when a disgruntled Sasuke's frown would usually intensify.

Sasuke was dragged down to the pitch every night by a very eager-to-learn and hard-to-appease blonde. Naruto was, by no means, anywhere near as good as half of the sixth year students, but he was a hell of a lot better than the other half, especially when the day of Quidditch trials for the Gryffindor team dawned.

'Sasuke!' Naruto said loudly, yanking the covers off of his friend's bed. 'Quidditch trials today. Come on!'

'Dobe, it's Sunday,' Sasuke growled, burying his face into his pillows and curling up, shivering with his lack of covers.

'We'd better get a head start,' Naruto continued, ignoring the Uchiha. 'It always pays to be early. Even Kiba's already gone down!'

'Naruto.' Sasuke propped himself up on his elbows and glared at the blonde. He was wearing black track pants with draw strings, and a large black and orange sleeveless jacket. Weekends meant no robes. 'It's Sunday. Sunday means sleep. Sleep means _you_ have to _shut the fuck up_.'

'Get up, teme,' Naruto rolled his eyes, looking slightly offended. 'You know as well as I do that you're going to have to get up anyway, because Gaara is going to have your head on a platter for his Thanksgiving dinner if you don't.'

Sasuke gave up. 'Go down to breakfast,' he sighed, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed as he made to get up. 'I'll join you in a few.'

Naruto grinned at him and left the room.

* * *

The post had already arrived by the time Sasuke sat down to eat. Naruto was spooning cereal into his mouth and reading a letter at the same time, giving the raven a slight nod of acknowledgement as he reached across for a goblet.

'Jiraiya sent you a letter?' he asked as he poured orange juice for himself.

Naruto nodded, thoroughly engrossed in what he was reading.

'What does it say?'

Naruto finally frowned and looked up from the letter. 'The stupid pervert took a whole week to reply and then send this, but guess what? He enclosed _this,_ of all things, with it!' Naruto waved a little purple book at Sasuke. 'I'm off to boarding school, but does he send me sweets? No. Ramen? No. _He sends me porn_!'

Sasuke snatched the book out of Naruto's grip and stared at the cover. The blonde hadn't lied. His mentor had truly sent him his latest porn novel, apparently convinced that Naruto and all his cute little friends would be dying to read it. On the glossy front cover was a detailed picture of two men draped all over each other on a bed.

'He writes _gay_ porn?' Sasuke asked with some surprise.

Naruto scowled. 'Ever since I told him that I like girls _and _guys, he's been giving me this shit. He turned to gay porn _especially _for me, or so he says. I never even read this crap!'

But Sasuke wasn't listening. His mind had gone into overdrive, around the same time that his heart had started thumping painfully fast. _Naruto likes guys_ was all that was going through his head, a phrase that was repeated over and over again. He knew there had been some attraction between them in the short time he'd known the blonde, but he'd never actually bothered to let himself hope that Naruto may actually have a chance of returning his ardor. With this turn of events, however…

'Oi, teme, you listening to me or what?'

'Hn,' Sasuke said, looking at the dobe and regaining his composure. 'Let's see that letter.'

Naruto rolled his eyes and thrust it at Sasuke. 'Knock yourself out.'

_Dear Brat, _Sasuke read as his eyes skimmed over Jiraiya's messy writing.

_Good to know you're enjoying school. How's that Sasuke kid? I'm telling you, brat, you ought to stick with him. I can tell that he really knows his stuff._

Sasuke let out an inaudible sigh. If only Naruto _would _stick with him, he just may be the happiest wizard on earth.

_There's nothing much going on over here. The 7__th__ novel of my Gay Men in Togas series is out, and I _know _you love them, you're just in denial. So I've enclosed a copy, because I'm pretty sure they don't have my amazing books in your library._

_The house is kind of quiet without you, kid. I actually kind of miss the noise. Not you, of course. Just the noise. Ha-ha._

_Send me some pictures, brat. How am I supposed to know what everything looks like? I'm a, as the wizards call it, muggle. Itachi said that the pictures will _move_. Cool, eh?_

_It's so quiet here, I'm thinking about taking a vacation. You know, somewhere nice and noisy…like New York or something. Yeah, I think New York will do me good. I've always wanted to go there, anyway._

_Anyway, kid. My editor is on a roll. She wants my next book in as soon as possible, and as much as I loath to listen to the woman, I have a feeling she's serious about that pain she promised if I didn't get it in on time. I have this strange inkling that she likes the Gay Men in Togas books a lot better than most of my fans. So I'll write to you again some other time._

_Have fun waving that stick and saying stupid words! Ha-ha!_

_Seriously though, work hard and make me proud, kid. I know you have it in you._

_Your lovable dad,_

_Jiraiya_

Sasuke was smirking as he handed the letter back to Naruto. 'I can tell he really loves you,' he commented, partially in truth.

Naruto rolled his eyes again. 'Right.'

'So who's going to be trying out for the team today, then?' Kiba asked the table, burping loudly immediately after.

'I will,' Naruto said. 'I know I'm new and all that, but I may be good enough for the team.'

'What'll you be trying for?' Kiba asked curiously.

Naruto sent a hesitant glance Sasuke's way. 'Um…I'll try for Chaser, and…Seeker.'

Sasuke shrugged. He wasn't really worried about his position on the team. Naruto was pretty good at flying, there was no denying that. But Sasuke had been riding brooms before he'd even learned to walk, and he knew he was several times better than the blonde.

'Well, I'll be trying for Beater this year,' Kiba announced, puffing out his chest. He turned to Naruto. 'I tried for Seeker in my second and third year, but Sasuke always beat me. Then I tried for Chaser, but I was terrible. The next year I tried Keeper, because Gaara wasn't the captain then and…well, I won't go into that. So Beater's the only thing left.'

Naruto nodded. He was nervous as hell. What was he thinking, trying out for the team? He was new to flying! He'd collapse halfway around the pitch, he just knew it.

'You'll never know unless you try,' Sasuke said quietly, his eyes never leaving his goblet of juice.

Naruto looked at him with some surprise. It was like the raven knew exactly how he was feeling. Sasuke must have felt the same the first time he tried out, Naruto reasoned. Then his mouth straightened into a determined line. Sasuke was right. He'd never know unless he tried.

* * *

Gaara was starting to get annoyed.

By the time they were half-way through the trials, he was full-on pissed.

'What the hell,' he said in a deathly cold voice, 'do you think you're doing signing up for a tryout, if you cannot _fly_?'

The third years he had directed his question at trembled under his hard stare. They had just gone for a round, flying along the perimeter of the pitch, and after much crashing and colliding, landed in front of their Gryffindor Quidditch Captain.

'Next batch,' Gaara said in disgust, turning away from them. While the third years scuttled away, several people shook their heads and followed them. Angering Gaara was just not worth it, they decided.

After one more pain-staking hour, Gaara had managed to narrow down their numbers to fifteen. Naruto, Sasuke and Kiba were a part of that group.

'I want the Seekers to try out first,' Gaara told them, eyes narrowed. 'I'm releasing the Snitch onto the pitch. First one to get it gets the position.'

Sasuke walked forward confidently. Naruto gulped and followed, holding his old, borrowed broom, a _Nimbus 2001_, tightly in his grip. Another sandy-haired boy Naruto had never met before joined them in the middle of the pitch, where they were surrounding Gaara.

'Stay on the ground for 10 seconds after I release the Snitch, then fly,' he instructed them, his hands on the chest that contained the little golden ball. 'Are you ready?'

When they nodded, Gaara swiftly bent down and released the catch on the chest. Four balls were strapped in there, and in the middle was a wildly struggling Golden Snitch. Gaara released it.

Sasuke mounted his broom. Following his example, Naruto and the sandy-haired boy did the same. After a swift nod from Gaara, indicating that ten seconds had passed, they kicked off from the ground.

The feeling of the wind rushing past his face was exhilarating. Naruto could never get used to the feeling of utter ecstasy that engulfed him every time that he flew. He let out a deep, pent-up breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding. He'd do fine. He knew it. He was in the air, and he was certain that he could do no wrong when everything felt so _right_.

Naruto's eyes darted around the pitch. He had to find that tiny, glittering little ball. Sasuke was already circling around the edges of the pitch, watching it like a hawk. That sandy-haired boy had flown straight up to the middle of the pitch and was hovering there, having decided that that vantage point put him above the others. Naruto decided to do like Sasuke was doing, and started circling the pitch.

He saw a glint of gold. Without a second thought, he dove straight at it. Leaning forward like Sasuke had taught him to, he followed the snitch as it made its way, zigzagging all over the place. He was closing in on it. His arm reached out, eager, just as his heart-rate increased. He was so close. Just a little further…

Out of nowhere, a pale hand shot out and snatched the snitch from right under Naruto's very nose. Naruto's eyes snapped up to Sasuke's face as the raven pulled back and held his arm out high, showing the field that he had caught his prey.

Cheers erupted from the onlookers down below. Naruto sighed. He had been close, but Sasuke had won, fair and square. He twisted around to see where the sandy-haired boy had gotten to, and then stifled a laugh.

A look of utter confusion had plastered itself on the boy's face. A look that said _when did_ that _happen?_

'Hn. Dobe.' Naruto turned to face Sasuke. 'You flew well.'

Naruto grinned at him. 'I did, didn't I? You did well too.'

'Of course,' Sasuke smirked. 'You didn't expect anything less, did you?'

Naruto rolled his eyes, smiling.

The trials continued. Surprisingly enough, Kiba passed.

'I'M ON THE TEAM!' he hollered gleefully as soon as he touched down and was given the news by Gaara. 'TAKE THAT, Sasuke!' he smirked in his direction. 'Didn't think I'd make the team, did you? Well, HAH!'

Sasuke plastered his best smirk on his face. 'Congratulations, Dog-breath. Five years of _trying _to get on the team finally paid off.'

'Shut up,' Kiba scowled. But even Sasuke couldn't keep his mood dampened for long. At least, if the delightedly passionate kiss he planted on Hinata was any indication.

Naruto was nervous. The final trial was for Chasers, and that was his last shot to get on the team. Seven people had tried out for Beaters, so that left them with six people trying for Chasers, including Naruto. Three of the six would become Chasers, and Naruto was praying he was one of them.

'I'm going to be guarding the goal-posts,' Gaara told them. 'Work as a team, and try to get the Quaffle past me. I'll be judging you.'

With that, Gaara handed the nearest person the Quaffle, then took off to one side of the pitch. When they were ready, the six kicked off.

Naruto played abysmally, to his horror. None of his shots went into any of the goal posts. He was good at flying, that much was true. In fact, he outflew four of the other five. But his aim was stupendously off the mark.

Dejected, he landed next to Sasuke and hung his head as soon as it was all over.

Sasuke felt a pang of…_something_…at the sight of the dobe's crestfallen face. He yearned to pull him into a comforting embrace, and wipe all his miseries away. He didn't, of course. Still, he couldn't help but feel gloomy.

Gaara sighed as he landed and dismounted. He had wanted, very badly, to put Naruto on the team. He couldn't do that now. Anyone could see that that would be a mistake, plus, Naruto would be completely unhappy if he did. While the others weren't quite as fast as him, they were still exceptionally good flyers, and their aim was good.

And if he had gotten to watch Sasuke squirm a bit more in the blonde's presence, well, so much the better for him, Gaara thought wryly. But that wouldn't be fair on the team. Strengthening his resolve, he walked toward the group.

'Albus, Lily, and Lee, you're on the team.'

The three that had gotten selected beamed at their new captain, while groans went up from the others. The boy named Lee instantly declared that they shouldn't feel bad, and that the Power of Youth would soon smile down at them. Naruto only smiled weakly at Gaara.

'Sorry,' he said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. 'I guess I did horrible, huh?'

'You're flying was good,' Gaara said to him. 'It was your aim that was horrible.'

Naruto flinched, while Sasuke glared at the red-head.

Gaara grinned at them. 'Cheer up, Naruto. There's always next year.'

'But you won't be there next year,' Naruto grumbled, quickly getting over his moodiness. 'You'll have graduated.'

Gaara shrugged. 'And Sasuke will probably be captain, then. Knowing him, he'll let you on the team.' He sent a meaningful glance in Sasuke's direction.

Sasuke glared at him heatedly. What was Gaara doing? Was he _trying _to tell Naruto how much Sasuke cared for him?

Naruto twisted to look at Sasuke hopefully. 'You will?'

Sasuke glanced at him and instantly felt himself calm down. He sighed and nodded. 'We'll see.' Deep down, there was no question about it. He knew that if Naruto tried out next year and he was captain, he would definitely put him on the team.

So he had precisely a year to make sure that, when the time came, Naruto could throw buttons at thimbles and not miss.

* * *

Sasuke was worried.

Naruto had been missing ever since they'd come back from the pitche, around 4:00 in the evening. He'd seen the blonde eating dinner as he'd entered the Great Hall, so he'd asked him where he'd been. After claiming to have been helped by Hinata with some of his work - which Kiba later attested to and nodded was true - he had zoomed straight off again, saying a quick goodbye.

Just then, Sasuke looked up at the sound of hinges creaking.

'Where have you been?'

Sasuke glared at Naruto as he climbed in through the portrait hole. Naruto glared right back.

'None of your business,' Naruto said. 'What is with you, anyway? You're worse than my old teacher, Iruka. He was just as mother-hen-like as you.'

Sasuke gave up right then and there. Naruto looked adorable, especially when he was unconsciously pouting the way he was now. Why was he hiding his feelings from the blonde anyway? He knew that Naruto wouldn't be biased because he was a guy. He had no reason not to flirt with Naruto. The only problem, though, was that Naruto might not feel the same way.

Sasuke smirked. If that was the case, he'd _make _Naruto feel the same way.

Standing up, he moved slowly toward where Naruto stood. The common-room was empty, since it was already well past midnight. Naruto's eyes narrowed as the raven approached.

'Teme?'

Next thing he knew, Sasuke was behind him and slipping his arms around his waist. 'Naruto,' he whispered, his hot breath caressing Naruto's ear as he buried his face in Naruto's mop of hair.

Naruto's stomach erupted into a cascade of butterflies. His cheeks felt overly warm as he felt Sasuke pressing into him from behind, his nose now nuzzling his neck. 'Sasuke,' he whispered. 'Wh-Wha-?'

'Shh,' Sasuke said, moving one of his arms up and under Naruto's shirt. He felt the muscles on Naruto's abdomen convulse under his feather light touches. 'Do you want this?'

Naruto's eyes had taken on a glazed quality to it. He looked to the side and at Sasuke, his eyes half-lidded, and nodded. God knows he wanted Sasuke.

'Where were you, Na-ru-to?' Sasuke asked him softly. He prayed Naruto couldn't feel the semi-hard erection he was sporting, lest he gave away exactly how much he wanted Naruto. Now wasn't the time Naruto realized exactly how much he was wanted…no, needed. Sasuke let the fingers of his right hand gently graze one of Naruto's nipples, while his other arm held Naruto secure against him.

With a small cry, Naruto arched into Sasuke's palm, his left hand coming down to tightly grip the arm holding him steady, while his other hand went up buried itself in Sasuke's locks. He wasn't sure if it was the heat from Sasuke, the fire, or even the heat from his desire that was coursing through him right now, but it had suddenly gotten almost unbearably hot.

'You like that?' Sasuke whispered. 'I'll do it again, if you tell me where you were.'

'Tsunade,' Naruto said, his eyes closed and his head turned away from Sasuke's, offering the raven his neck. 'She wanted my subjects.'

'Hn.' That's right. Naruto had mentioned that he'd had to see Tsunade today. Sasuke smirked and touched Naruto's nipple again. Naruto moaned and pushed into the hand.

Sasuke's erection hardened at the sound of that moan. 'Naruto,' he murmured, and then licked the blonde's neck from his collarbone upwards. The hand in his hair tightened.

'Sasuke,' Naruto sighed.

The blonde sighing his name snapped him out of it. He couldn't be doing this. Not now. He had to wait, and make Naruto really, truly want him. He wasn't just someone Naruto could play with once out of desire, and then toss away. Of course, he was fairly certain that Naruto wouldn't do that, but he wanted there to be at least _some _feeling between them before they got serious.

Although it took every ounce of his willpower, he dropped his hands and forcefully stepped away from Naruto.

Naruto missed the heat immediately. He turned and regarded Sasuke with a confused look.

Sasuke almost grabbed him and kissed him right there. But he restrained himself. He shouldn't do it. It's better, in the long run, he thought to himself.

So instead, he gave Naruto a tender smile. 'I have to go now,' he said in a soft voice.

Naruto didn't know what to do. He just nodded, staring after Sasuke as the raven headed out the portrait hole once more.

Little did he know that Sasuke was heading over to one of the quiet bathrooms upstairs, where he'd be able to take care of a small…_problem_.

* * *

**A/N: Hey there. The number of reviews I get in a week has gone down. Think you guys can bring it back up and make me happy? I love you all!**

**So, Read and Review!**


	11. Death Defying

**A/N: This chapter has been UPDATED (Paragraph 11 and 12).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

* * *

Naruto wasn't in the least mad at Sasuke about last night. Hell, he was barely what you could call upset.

No. Naruto was fucking _furious_.

_That bloody stupid, ass-hole, moronic TEME, _he raged in his head. _What the hell is wrong with that bastard? Coming on to me, then fucking leaving me hanging with a fucking hard on!_

That part wasn't entirely true, Naruto conceded, deep within the confines of his mind. His little soldier had _just_ begun to stand at attention before Sasuke had up and left like that. Naruto had been dazed, to say the least. After the portrait had swung shut after Sasuke, he'd seemed to snap out of whatever reverie he'd been reduced to.

And he'd been _livid_.

He'd further made up his mind that he'd have nothing to do with Sasuke from that moment forward. That bastard wanted to play games? Well, he could find someone else to look stupid. Naruto wasn't falling for it anymore. The blonde firmly made up his mind to force the raven-haired bastard to endure his silent treatment.

It had been hard. Later that night, when Naruto had gotten into bed after staring at the portrait hole for what seemed like an eternity and then heading upstairs, he'd heard the dormitory door open. He'd immediately shut his eyes tight, having no wish to face the raven. Sasuke, too, it seemed, hadn't wanted to talk to him, if the way he led himself straight to bed without so much as pausing at Naruto's four-poster was any indication.

Naruto knew that Sasuke hadn't paused because, although his eyes had been screwed up tightly, his ears had been honing in on every little noise like mini-satellites. And he'd heard Sasuke's footsteps move from the door straight to his own bed.

Bloody teme.

And Naruto was now going out of his way to avoid Sasuke. It was kind of hard, seeing as so many of their subjects coincided.

Naruto hadn't been lying when he'd told Sasuke last night that he'd been with Tsunade. That had been the truth. He had told their big-busted principal that he'd be takin Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Muggle Studies, Astronomy and History of Magic for his OWLs. For his NEWTs, he'd be taking the first five of those subjects.

She had promptly waved her wand over a piece of blank parchment lying in front of her, and then handed it to him. His new time-table was neatly printed on the parchment, telling him where he should be at certain times. Due to his special circumstances, three days of the week required him to be in two classes at once. Tsunade had warned him not to let anyone see this particular time-table, or he'd be bombarded with questions he couldn't answer without giving away his secret of the Time-Turner.

Naruto had four of his nine subjects with the raven. It was difficult, to say the least, to avoid Sasuke in those circumstances. But you couldn't blame the blonde for lack of trying.

When Sasuke sat next to him in the Great Hall, Naruto instantly started up a conversation with Gaara, who was generally beside him, or Kiba if the red-head wasn't available. He never went so far as to actually _move_, mainly because he felt it'd be too childish of him if he did. Although the urge to do so never ceased.

In class, Naruto avoided talking to him unless he absolutely had to, which was never except during Defense Against the Dark Arts with Itachi. Sasuke's older brother had no idea, of course, as to why the bright blonde was avoiding the raven, but tried to put them together as much as possible, for his own sadistic amusement if not for Sasuke's sake. It never worked out really well, though, because Naruto would pout and look off in another direction whenever he was paired with the raven. Sasuke found himself at his brother's desk after class one day, asking that he stop pairing him up with the blonde unless he wanted Sasuke to fail. The blonde was far too distracting with the way he pouted, although Sasuke didn't admit that to anyone.

But days turned into weeks, and before the school knew what had hit them, the first Quidditch match was about to begin.

* * *

Sasuke was miserable. What on earth had possessed him to do that to Naruto that night? Seeing the blonde had somehow triggered some sort of primal instinct in him, prodding and urging him to leap. And leapt he had.

Look where _that _had left him.

Naruto refused to even make so much as eye contact with the raven. Sasuke had tried, in vain, to get to talk to Naruto. He'd willingly sat next to the blonde whenever he could. But Naruto seemed to ignore him in favor of whoever was available at that point. He'd even enthusiastically talked with Gaara, and thattraitorous Quidditch Captain had willingly participated in the conversation, all the while throwing hidden smirks in a disgruntled Sasuke's direction.

Exactly what Naruto hoped to accomplish by pretending he didn't exist, he had no idea. Whatever it was, it couldn't be working too well, because the blonde looked damned near unhappy whenever Sasuke managed to catch a glimpse of his expressions.

Worst of all, Naruto's fans had seemed to increase without Sasuke around to shoo them away. The girls crowded around the blonde without him noticing, throwing him flirtatious looks that he completely missed, and striking up stupid conversations about the weather and whether or not their new hairstyles looked alright. The only thing that consoled Sasuke was that Naruto was so _oblivious _to whatever was happening around him.

Meanwhile, Gaara had kept the entire team up late at night for practices. It was his final year at Hogwarts, and he wanted to graduate the captain of the winning Quidditch team. He'd glared the team down into submission, demanding they win, and Sasuke had been the only one in the group to stand up and glare back. They'd glared at each other for a full five minutes before realizing how stupidly they were behaving, so they'd scowled and gotten on with the practices. The team had been heartened knowing that they were in capable, but not entirely unbreakable, hands, and had done fairly well.

Before they knew it, it was time for their match against the Slytherins.

* * *

Naruto walked dejectedly down to the fields. He'd have to rethink this whole Ignore-Sasuke strategy of his. All it did was make the blonde miserable. And while he felt that Sasuke did deserve it – _no one _got him turned on and then left half way through…hell, no one should be getting him turned on, _on purpose_! – this thing had gone on for long enough.

_I'll talk to him after the match_, Naruto thought as he followed Hinata up to the stands where Gryffindor supporters sat.

'Blondie!'

Recognizing the voice and familiar nickname, Naruto twisted around and, looking up, saw Itachi waving at him from a particularly high up stand. He gazed at Itachi questioningly.

'_Come over here_,' he mouthed at him. '_Better view.'_ He pointed at the fields to emphasize he point.

'_Can she come_?' Naruto mouthed back, pointing at Hinata, who was watching the exchange with a curious expression.

Itachi nodded at him, so Naruto turned to Hinata.

'I just got us box seats,' he told her proudly, jerking with his head at where Itachi was sitting. 'Let's go.'

Hinata grinned and followed him.

When they reached the stand, they found Itachi idly examining a fingernail as he waited for the match to start. He glanced up at them from his chair when Naruto cleared his throat. 'Blondie, next to me,' he instructed.

Naruto rolled his eyes and plonked himself down onto the chair next to Itachi. Hinata followed his example and, much more gracefully, seated herself next to Naruto.

The excited chatter of students that were milling around and trying to find seats near their friends washed over them, effectively drowning out most other noises. Naruto didn't even_ try_ to make small talk. His attention was focused entirely on the pitch…this was his first Quidditch game!

'WELCOME, STUDENTS!' a loud voice boomed over the stadium, making Naruto jump, startled at the sudden noise. He glanced around and caught sight of a student he'd seen around before, but didn't really know the name of, speaking animatedly to the air. Naruto squinted carefully. There wasn't a microphone in sight.

'My name is TenTen, and I'm from Ravenclaw,' the student announced to the crowd, and Naruto realized with a jolt that the speaker was female. She looked as tough as any of his male acquaintances, though. Her hair was tied behind her in two buns, and she seemed to be glaring determinedly at the pitch. 'Long story short, today's match is Gryffindor versus Slytherin! The hostility between these two houses is nothing short of legendary, and this year, the teams are captained by none other than Gaara Sabaku and Kabuto Yakushi!'

The Gryffindor and Slytherin stands erupted into roars that held cheers and jeers in equal amounts. Naruto and Hinata were among the ones that clapped hard for their team, while Itachi, an old Slytherin, merely touched his palms together twice in what Naruto assumed was supposed to be an encouraging applaud. He rolled his eyes a clapped harder for Gryffindor.

'And now, I give you our Gryffindor team Captain and Keeper, Gaara Sabaku!'

Gaara walked onto the pitch and lifted a hand in acknowledgement of the team's supporters, who broke out into raucous cheers once more.

'Unofficial Most Valuable Player of last year, and Seeker of the Gryffindor team, Sasuke Uchiha!'

Naruto's heart leapt as he watched Sasuke coolly walk onto the pitch. He saw him throw a glance at the stands as if looking for something, and then frown.

'Let's give a warm welcome to Gryffindor's Beaters, sixth year Kiba Inuzuka and fourth year Konohamaru Sarutobi!'

Kiba stepped grandly onto the pitch, grinning wildly and revealing his pointed canines as he waved at the crowd. He was accompanied by a smaller boy who looked somewhat similar to him. The kid grinned cockily at the Gryffindor supporters, who broke out into a fresh wave of applause.

The Gryffindor Chasers were then introduced, followed by an introduction to the entire Slytherin team. Professor Anko, the Hogwarts flying instructor, walked onto the pitch soon after, holding a heavy-looking chest under one arm. When she reached the center of the pitch, she placed down the load and talked to the captains.

'What's she saying?' Naruto asked Itachi, keeping his eyes on the pitch.

'She's telling them the rules. She'll be releasing the balls in a few minutes,' Itachi told him.

After the team had mounted their brooms, she bent down and undid the catch on the chest. After releasing the Snitch and the two Bludgers, she took the Quaffle and held her whistle to her lips.

She heaved the Quaffle into the air and simultaneously blew hard on her whistle.

'And they're off!' TenTen cried as the teams kicked off from the ground. 'The Quaffle is immediately grabbed by Gryffindor Chaser Lily Potter – she was on the team last year, and she's back again after an excellent trial – and there's a neat pass to her brother, Albus, and- ooh, bad luck there, that Bludger knocked his broom off course – and Slytherin's got the Quaffle, that's the Captain, Kabuto Yakushi, speeding off toward the goalposts, but he's blocked by a Bludger sent his way by Gryffindor's new Beater, Kiba Inuzuka – and it looks like another new find of Gryffindor, Lee Rock has gotten the Quaffle – look at that, folks, he's really going for it! Wow, what a dive, Lee narrowly misses a speeding Bludger, and it looks like the field ahead is clear – Uh oh! And Slytherin Beater Scorpius Malfoy hits a Bludger toward Lee, it's definitely going to hit him, and Lee- Lee passes! Lee manages a last-minute pass to Lily Potter, she hurls it at the goalposts – Keeper Baddock dives – misses – GRYFFINDOR SCORE!'

The cheers of the Gryffindor supporters filled the stadium, along with the dismayed groans from the Slytherins. Naruto hooted excitedly and clapped till his hands stung, but not caring in the least. The match was terribly thrilling, and he was going to cheer until he was hoarse.

Sasuke, meanwhile, was circling the field, his eyes darting around in search of the elusive Snitch. It was nowhere to be seen. He and the Slytherin Seeker, Kimimaro Bones, were on opposite sides of the pitch, trying to catch a glimpse of a glint of gold.

'Sasuke, over there!' Kiba was suddenly next to him and pointing him in the direction of the stands where the professors sat.

Sasuke saw it. A flash of gold. Before the crowd could fathom what was happening, Sasuke was speeding toward the Snitch, excitement pooling in the pit of his stomach. This was why he loved Quidditch. It was all for this, this feeling he got whenever he flew, hard and fast, for a little golden ball that could disappear in a second.

Naruto had been watching Lily Potter steal the Quaffle from Kabuto when he noticed Sasuke flying toward him. He blinked in surprise. What the hell was that bastard doing? He then realized that Sasuke was after the Snitch. And that the Snitch was heading toward the stands. And that Sasuke wasn't stopping.

_He's going to crash! _Naruto thought, horrified. _Sasuke, you stupid moron, slow down!_

There was no time to stop. The Snitch would either hurtle into the stands, or suddenly change direction, and Sasuke had no time to change the direction of his broom.

Naruto saw it all like it was in slow motion. Sasuke's eyes leaving the Snitch for a fraction of a second, to make eye-contact with him. Him winking at the blonde. And then, throwing himself off his broom.

'_Sasuke!_' Naruto yelled.

Sasuke had leapt off his broom with both hands stretched out, and grabbed the Snitch. By now, the crowd had seen what was going on. Kimimaro had been streaking across the pitch, but it was too late.

With a collective gasp, the spectators watched in horror as their Gryffindor Seeker plunged toward the ground.

* * *

When Sasuke woke up, he was in the hospital wing. He, however, wasn't alone. Sleeping in a chair next to the white hospital bed he was in was a certain blue-eyed blonde, who was snoring for the world to hear.

'Dobe?'

Naruto jerked awake. He looked around the room blearily before his eyes settled on Sasuke. 'Sasuke! You're awake!'

Sasuke refrained from rolling his eyes, but his heart thudded rather painfully in his chest. 'How long have you been here?'

Naruto shrugged. 'An hour or so.'

'Oh. Well, what happened?'

Naruto looked at him curiously. 'You don't remember the match?'

Sasuke really did roll his eyes this time. 'Dobe. Yes, I remember the match. What happened after I caught the Snitch? How did I end up in the hospital wing?'

Naruto frowned at him. 'Teme, what the hell did you think you were doing? You threw yourself off your broom, nearly gave everyone a heart-attack in the process, mind you-'

'Including you?' Sasuke quipped hopefully.

'Shut up,' Naruto scowled. '_Anyway_, as I was saying, well, you fell, obviously. Gaara had seen what was going on and saved your sorry ass just before you hit the ground. He's happy we won the match – well, I _think _he's happy, I don't think I've ever seen him smile – but he's pissed as hell that you pulled that stupid stunt.'

'And the match?' Sasuke pressed, not caring in the least what his Captain thought.

'We won.' Naruto couldn't stop a grin spreading on his face as he said it. 'We won the match. It was really quick. 160 to 0.'

Sasuke was suddenly quiet, staring at his sheets. When he looked up, he was frowning.

'You're talking to me?'

Naruto blushed and looked away. 'Um, yeah.'

'I'm forgiven?'

'Um…yeah, you're forgiven.'

A small, genuine smile appeared on Sasuke's face. 'I'm sorry.'

'Bit late for that, teme,' Naruto said, returning back to his usual teasing self.

'Well…thanks.'

Naruto looked away. 'Just…just don't do that to me again, alright?'

'I can't do that,' Sasuke said seriously.

Naruto looked back at him, surprise and confusion etched on his face. 'Why not?'

'Naruto,' Sasuke sighed. How was he going to explain this to him? 'Look, it's just…It's…'

'What, Sasuke?' Naruto asked softly.

'Never mind,' Sasuke said, his courage failing him. He'd tell the blonde later.

* * *

An hour later, Naruto was walking back up to the Gryffindor tower alone. Sasuke would spend one night in the hospital wing, for observation, as Professor Shizune put it. Just to make sure that he was completely alright. He hadn't suffered any serious injuries from the fall, since Gaara managed to prevent any major damage, but she wasn't taking any chances.

While Naruto walked, he thought about what had happened during the match.

He had been terrified. No point denying that. When he'd seen Sasuke fall, and was convinced that the raven had met his end, he'd quite literally felt an empty hollow in his heart which he was sure shouldn't be there. He'd never felt like that before.

And he'd lied to Sasuke. He hadn't been there for an hour. Hell, he'd been there for 6 hours, at least, worried sick, even though Shizune had assured him that the Uchiha wasn't in any danger.

Naruto sighed. He didn't know when it had happened. One minute he hated the raven, the next… Naruto shook his head. He couldn't believe it.

_I'm in love with Sasuke._

* * *

**A/N: Hi.**

**Okay, so while I was working on Chapter 12, I realized that there was a bit of a mix up with the subjects Naruto chose. After doing some research, it turns out that he needs to take nine OWL subjects, and then there is no limit on the number of subjects he takes in NEWTs. **

**I'm sorry if this causes any confusion for anyone. I think it's pretty clear, but if you still have a few queries, feel free to PM your questions, and I'll get back to you.**

**One last thing: Thank you to for one of my anonymous reviewers, cynlee, for pointing out that I haven't mentioned the Time Turner in a while. I forgot to put it in, so...yeah. Thanks. **

**Anyway, thanks to all for sticking with the story thus far!**

**REVIEW!**


	12. The Hogsmeade Trip

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Naruto found it surprisingly easy to disguise his feelings for Sasuke. He just acted like he usually did, and the raven suspected absolutely nothing.

The only problem was that Sasuke might not feel even remotely the same way. Hell, he may not even like guys! Of course, Naruto was pretty sure he was safe on that count. No guy touched him like Sasuke had that night in the common room and claimed they _didn't _like males.

'Most of you haven't done as well as I hoped,' Itachi said, bringing Naruto out of his thoughts as he started passing out the latest marked homework of the Sixth Year's Defense Against the Dark Arts class. 'In fact, two of you in particular have received a _T_.' His cold eyes lingered on Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke looked faintly alarmed as he stared at his homework, but most of his shock was masked. Naruto looked downright horrified.

'I'd like the two – you know who you are – to remain after class and see me.'

Sasuke sighed and slumped in his chair. Naruto trembled.

When the bell rang, Sasuke and Naruto gathered their books and walked to the front of the classroom. Itachi waited till the rest of the class had emptied out before speaking.

'Here,' he said, handing Sasuke and Naruto two new sheets. An _O _and an _E _were marked respectively and circled on the parchments in red pen. 'This is your real homework. I just needed an excuse to talk to you two.'

Sasuke rolled his eyes, hiding his relief. 'You couldn't have just said that you needed to talk to us after class? You've reduced him to tears.' He jerked his head in Naruto's direction.

'Teme!' Naruto growled, punching Sasuke's arm. 'Have not,' he added grumpily.

'The class might be getting suspicious,' Itachi shrugged. 'I always seem to need a reason to talk to you two lately. The homework was the only thing I could think of. Besides,' he added, smirking, 'it was fun watching your expressions.'

'What'd you need to say?' Sasuke sighed, waving a hand prompting his brother to get on with it.

'Orochimaru is coming to Hogwarts.'

They blinked. Twice.

'_What?' _Sasuke slammed his fists onto Itachi's table and glared at his brother. 'What the hell do you mean, he's coming to Hogwarts?'

'Exactly what it sounds like,' he said dryly. 'He's arriving at the school next week as a school governor.'

'But _why_?' Naruto asked. 'Didn't you say Tsunade doesn't like him?'

'Blondie, Tsunade has no say in who is and who isn't a school governor,' Itachi informed him with a faintly pitying look. 'That's the ministry's job.'

'So he's just…he's just _coming_?' Sasuke asked incredulously. 'But why? Why does he need to come here?'

Itachi shrugged. 'Officially, it's the ministry's orchestration. But we know better. He's probably looking for an excuse to get at our fortune again.'

'By messing up Hogwarts?' Sasuke said, outraged.

'Tut tut, little brother,' Itachi admonished. 'We don't know that he's going to _mess up_ Hogwarts, as you so delicately put it. We are clueless as to his true plans, obviously. I just wanted to make sure you keep up your guard around him.'

'When's he coming?' Naruto asked.

'Oh, no worries, it'll be somewhere in January or so,' Itachi said lightly. 'We needn't bother about him till then.'

Sasuke stood up. 'Keep us up to date, then. Come on, Naruto.'

Naruto sighed. 'I have no idea what's going on.' He glanced at Itachi as he followed Sasuke out. 'And I have no idea why this involves _me_.'

* * *

'So, it's Hogsmeade this weekend,' Kiba whispered to Naruto during their Transfiguration lesson. 'You're coming, right?'

'Yeah,' Naruto whispered back, keeping his eyes on Professor Kurenai, who was teaching up front. 'Jiraiya mentioned in his last letter that he wants some stuff that he heard about from Itachi.'

Even though he was talking back, he wasn't really paying attention to Kiba's ravings about the many positive aspects of Hogsmeade. He was worrying about his past self.

It had been two weeks since he'd gone to Tsunade with his chosen subjects. What he hadn't mentioned to his friends about his meeting was that their principal had handed him a timetable that only one with a Time Turner could follow. Right now, he was in sixth-year Transfiguration and fifth-year Muggle Studies, both at the same time.

Naruto still wasn't used to the sensation of travelling back in time. He constantly worried about getting caught. Lucky for him, only three out of the five days he attended school required him using the Time Turner. Like today, for instance – a Tuesday.

'Naruto!'

Naruto turned and blinked at Kiba. 'What?' he whispered.

'Did you even hear what I just said?'

Naruto chuckled sheepishly. 'Um. No?'

Kiba rolled his eyes. 'I asked you if you wanted to help me drag Sasuke along.'

Naruto looked at Kiba in surprise. '_Drag _Sasuke? Wouldn't he want to come anyway?'

'Sasuke has missed several hundred Hogsmeade weekends,' Kiba said, sighing dramatically. 'Hinata and I feel that it can't be good for his health to be cooped up in the castle for so long. So we've decided to insist he accompany us this time.'

'But why doesn't he like going to Hogsmeade?' Naruto asked, puzzled.

'No one knows,' Kiba said, narrowing his eyes mysteriously. 'Some say it's because the only love of his life jilted him there.' Naruto's heart clenched painfully in his chest. 'Others think he just doesn't like being social.'

'It's probably the latter,' Naruto murmured, praying he was right. Or if he was wrong, Sasuke was over whoever the girl had been.

'So you'll help?' Kiba asked brightly.

'Sure,' muttered Naruto. 'Whatever.'

'Naruto! Kiba!' The two boys looked up at a glaring Professor Kurenai. 'I do hope you're discussing the ways in which we can transfigure curtains into quilts.'

'Of course, Professor,' Kiba lied smoothly. 'I was just explaining the concept to Naruto here.'

'Pity,' Professor Kurenai said. 'It would've been better to talk about transfiguring tree bark to paper, since that's what we're learning today.' Naruto flinched. 'Seeing as you two know so much about curtain transfiguration, however, I expect a 4-foot long essay on the subject by Friday latest.' The bell rang just then. 'Class dismissed.'

Kiba sighed and gathered his books. 'Crazy old lady tricked us,' he said in a hushed voice to Naruto, glowering in Professor Kurenai's direction as they exited the room. 'Typical. I never did like her.'

Naruto rolled his eyes. By tomorrow, Professor Kurenai would go back to being Kiba's favorite professor ever, he knew. He waved goodbye to Kiba and headed toward the Dungeons, where the Potions class was located.

'Hn. Dobe.'

Naruto's heart leapt in his chest as he turned around and saw Sasuke standing at the foot of the steps that led to the Dungeon. Funny how his heart seemed to do that lately.

'Sasuke!' he grinned. 'You're on your way to Potions?'

'Yeah.' The dark-haired boy looked at Naruto and smirked slightly. 'You're _that_ eager to walk me to class, huh?'

Butterflies invaded Naruto's stomach. Had Sasuke found out about his feelings already? But how? 'W-What do you mean?' stammered Naruto.

'I told you I'd see you in Potions,' Sasuke reminded him. 'When I passed you just now in the first floor corridor. You were running somewhere like crazy. What, you forgot already?'

Naruto suddenly remembered. Sasuke _had _said that to him, before he'd hurried off and ducked into an empty classroom and used the Time-Turner. To Naruto, though, that was a bit over an hour ago.

'Oh, um, yeah,' Naruto laughed nervously. 'Sorry, I was just talking to Kiba, and I…you know me, I tend to forget these things.'

'Well, that was quick of Dog-breath,' Sasuke commented, turning and walking down the steps. 'He'd have really had to run to meet you on the first floor from the third. Didn't he just have Transfiguration?'

'Um, yeah. We needed to talk about something important,' Naruto said, following Sasuke.

Naruto saw Sasuke's back stiffen slightly, although he had no idea why. 'What was so important?' Sasuke asked in a deceptively casual voice.

'Hogsmeade weekend,' Naruto quipped hastily. 'We're thinking of going together.'

'I'll come too,' Sasuke said as they reached the Potions classroom.

Naruto blinked in surprise. Hadn't Kiba just told him that Sasuke would up a strenuous fight and refuse to accompany them? 'You will?'

'Yeah,' Sasuke said firmly. 'I will.'

* * *

Sasuke glared miserably at a passing sign bearing the words _Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop_. He didn't know _what _he'd been thinking when he'd insisted to Naruto that he'd come with them to Hogsmeade. He hated it here with all his heart. He had for a while now, ever since he first came here in his third year. Everything was just so…_happy_. Ugh. It made him sick.

_Stupid jealous feelings_, Sasuke grumbled. If he had known that Hinata was going to be here, and that Naruto wouldn't have been alone with Kiba, he would never have offered to come. Of course, Kiba was already dating Hinata, so there was never any danger of them doing anything even slightly romantic in the first place. _Still_, Sasuke scowled, trying to convince himself that he had done the right thing in coming. _You never know. _Something _might have happened._

The only places that were worth visiting in this horrible village were Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop and the Shrieking Shack. Unfortunately, though, the Shrieking Shack had been completely barred from visitors since the Great Battle of Hogwarts. And Sasuke wasn't particularly looking forward to purchasing a top-notch quill, with his own raven-quill working perfectly fine.

'Oi, teme!' Naruto called out from in front of him, where he was happily chatting away with that stupid mongrel and Hinata. 'We're going to stop by that place over there, The Three Broomsticks. Come on!'

Sasuke groaned and followed. Well, he supposed it wasn't that bad. Madam Rosmerta was really, really old, but none of her looks or wits had left her. She _did _make a mean Firewhisky. And he could really go for some alcohol right now.

They stepped into the large pub. There were people drinking, eating, chatting and milling around, but the pub wasn't quite full. They easily managed to find a nice round table with four chairs in a corner of the room, and when they'd given their orders to Madam Rosmerta, started talking once more.

'I'm surprised you were so eager to come here, Sasuke,' Kiba said, draping his left arm over Hinata as he looked across the table at him. 'You've always hated it here.'

'Hn.' Sasuke wasn't feeling very talkative. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Naruto had suddenly sat up straighter, and was looking at him.

'Sasuke,' Naruto began, looking down with the beginnings of a blush, 'can I ask you something?'

'You just did.' Sasuke's face remained impassive, but his interest increased. What thoughts had already painted a red tinge to the blonde's cheeks?

'Bastard, you know what I mean,' Naruto scowled. He still refused to look up.

Sasuke noticed Kiba lean forward curiously, and Hinata as well, although she didn't do it quite so conspicuously. 'What is it, Dobe?'

'Why do you hate it so much in Hogsmeade?'

_Was that all? _Surprise etched itself into Sasuke's features. 'No reason, Dobe. I don't like the atmosphere, or something, I guess.'

Naruto looked up now, a glimmer of hope in his eyes, to Sasuke's stunned amusement. 'Really?'

'Um. Yeah,' Sasuke answered carefully. 'Should I hate it for any other reason?'

Kiba shook his head vigorously at Naruto, but the blonde completely missed the hasty and anxious look, although Sasuke didn't.

'I heard that you'd been dumped in Hogsmeade by some girl. _And_ that you're a social retard.'

Silence roared at the table. Kiba looked horrified, Hinata shocked, Sasuke stunned, and Naruto was completely oblivious.

'Dobe,' Sasuke began, v_ery _slowly, 'where exactly did you hear that from?'

Naruto nodded at Kiba. Sasuke's gaze shifted to and glared at the dog-lover, his eyes promising death. Kiba paled and winced, tightening his hold on Hinata. Sasuke then turned back to Naruto.

'I can assure you that I had never been dumped in Hogsmeade by a girl, having never _dated _a girl before. I'm not that much into females, fortunately.'

Naruto felt something akin to relief sweep through him. He'd known, of course, that Sasuke had no particular scruples when it came to dating men, but it was still somewhat liberating to hear him say it out loud. He didn't let anyone see how he was feeling, though, and said to Sasuke, 'And as for you being a social retard?'

'I wouldn't call it _retard_,' Sasuke said, his lips tugging upward. 'More of an aversion to people.'

Madam Rosmerta suddenly appeared with their drinks. 'Here you go, dearies,' she said in a cheerful voice. 'Three Firewhiskies for the men, and a Butterbeer for the Miss.'

Naruto reached for his Firewhisky – which he had only ordered because Sasuke and Kiba had – and brought it to his lips, gingerly sniffing it. It didn't smell too bad. He took a tentative sip.

It was amazing! The alcohol burned a way down his throat and into his gullet, where he could still feel its effects. Now that he knew that Sasuke really did just have reservations about Hogsmeade for no apparent reason, most of all not involving a girl, he felt much, much more relaxed. He might as well order another drink.

* * *

Several Firewhiskies later, Naruto was quite, quite drunk.

Naruto downed the last bit of Firewhisky in his mug. 'I want another one,' he announced dazedly, slamming the glass mug onto the table. When no one responded except to look at him cautiously, he said resolutely, 'Now.'

Sasuke rolled his eyes. It was obvious that the dobe had imbibed more alcohol than he could handle. He himself had stopped after he was done with his first drink, and Kiba had stopped after two. They both knew that the alcohol in Firewhisky was exceedingly hard to handle. Sasuke supposed they should have warned Naruto.

'Where ish my Firewhishky?' Naruto demanded of Kiba. 'Giw me my Firewhisky!'

Sasuke stood up. That was about enough of that. 'I'll take Naruto up to Hogwarts,' he told Kiba and Hinata. 'I want to leave anyway. I might as well drag him along.'

Kiba nodded. 'Okay, thanks. I'll stay here with Hinata, if that's alright. We wanted to drop by Madam Puddifoot's later.'

Sasuke refrained from gagging. He hated Madam Puddifoot's more than any of the other places at Hogsmeade. He sighed again. 'Come on, Dobe. Let's go.'

Naruto shook his head and crossed his arms stubbornly, remaining seated. 'No! Not until I get my Firewhishky!'

'I've got some in our dorm,' Sasuke lied smoothly. 'Really good stuff. Ages old, tastes way better than this pub's.'

Naruto stopped his complaining and chanced a look at Sasuke from underneath his blonde bangs. 'Really?'

'Really,' Sasuke said, feeling like a cad. Then he got pissed at himself _for _feeling like a cad. He should be able to lie to Naruto, and _not_ feel guilty about it! Damn that dobe. Damn those stupid blue puppy-eyes.

Naruto stood. 'Letsh go!' he said cheerfully. To Sasuke's surprise, Naruto grabbed his hand and, holding it tightly, dragged him out of the pub.

Once they were out, Naruto still refused to let go of his grip on Sasuke's hand, although Sasuke half-heartedly tried pulling away from his grasp. Naruto only tightened his hold. So Sasuke gave up and opted for leading the way to the castle by swinging Naruto's right arm – the one holding onto Sasuke's hand – around his shoulder, and supporting him on the trek back.

Naruto stumbled over the flat ground, but Sasuke made sure he didn't fall. Their good luck couldn't last forever, though. About three-quarters of the way, Naruto tripped over a rock that was about the size of his foot that he didn't see, and he tumbled to the ground, dragging Sasuke down with him.

'Ugh,' Sasuke groaned, reaching up and rubbing his head. He had somehow landed on his back, but his head seemed to have knocked into Naruto _and _the ground at some point. And it hurt like hell.

He opened his eyes slowly, and then blinked as he stared into a pair of blue eyes. Naruto had landed on top of him.

Oh God.

'Naruto,' Sasuke coughed, trying to ignore the way their groins were pressed together, 'do you think you could get off of me?'

Naruto only stared at Sasuke, seemingly fascinated with his face. He made no indication that he had heard what Sasuke had said. 'You know,' he suddenly remarked, 'you really are hot.'

Sasuke blushed, much to his annoyance. 'Dobe, you're intoxicated. You don't know what you're saying.'

'Oh, but I do,' Naruto said. But his voice was still slurred, so Sasuke didn't feel all that inclined to believe him. 'You're hot, and I wantcha to know shomething.'

Sasuke sighed and decided to play along. 'Okay, fine. But then you get off.'

'I wantcha to know that I love you.'

Sasuke blinked in surprise. '_What?_'

'I love you,' Naruto said firmly, 'and there ain't nothing you can do about it.'

He then ruined the effect by passing out.

Sasuke lay like that, with Naruto on top of him, for what seemed like an eternity. He thought, and he thought.

He liked Naruto. Naruto apparently returned his ardor. But did he really want to trust a drunkard? Ah, so many questions. For what seemed like the hundredth time, Sasuke sighed. He might as well drag the dobe to the castle.

* * *

When Naruto woke up, it was with a splitting headache. He groaned and tried to go back to sleep, to make the pain go away. It didn't, of course. With another groan, he tried to rise.

'Hn. Dobe.'

Naruto blinked his eyes open, now upright. 'Sasuke? What are you doing here?'

Sasuke was sitting on the edge of his bed, watching him carefully. The rest of the dorm was empty. The others must still be in Hogsmeade.

'This is my dorm too, you know,' he drawled in reply.

Naruto rolled his eyes. 'Is something wrong, bastard?'

Sasuke stared intensely at him. Naruto gazed confusedly back. Sasuke then relaxed and opened his mouth. 'Naruto, will you go out with me?'

Naruto stared at Sasuke, his face a picture incredulous disbelief. His heart, though, was drumming quite painfully against his ribcage. Sasuke had asked him out! 'Seriously?' This had better not be some sick joke.

Sasuke smirked. 'Seriously.'

Naruto beamed at him. 'In that case…Yes.'

* * *

**A/N: I'm back! I used all my spare time abroad to finish this, so seriously, you guys owe me. ^.^ A review would be a nice way to show your appreciation. **

**Whoops! Hehe, silly me. I told you guys to vote on that poll in the last chapter, but didn't put it up on my profile. Seriously. I'm SUCH a tubelight.**

**It's up now, so go vote! I need to know if Orochimaru should...okay, go check and find out what Orochimaru should do that or not. **

**Anyway, just to let you know, I updated Chapter 11. I forgot to mention the Time Turner, so I did, and then I changed the subjects that Naruto takes, for reasons mentioned in the author's note in Ch. 11. Once again, thanks to cynlee for pointing out the Time Turner bit.**

**And in case anyone is wondering, yes, Naruto did finish the four-foot long essay and hand it in to Kurenai. **

**The explicit parts should be up soon! A few more reviews, and it'll be done. I should warn you though: This is my first actual yaoi lemon. My poem fic, Promised Love, doesn't count, because I didn't go into detail in that. So be nice when it's up, k?**

**Please review!**


	13. Holiday Spirit

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto in any way.

* * *

News of Sasuke's and Naruto's official status as a couple spread like wildfire around the school. Sasuke couldn't have cared less what they thought. Naruto, on the other hand, was embarrassed beyond belief.

'Why would you want to date a blonde without a penis?' Ravenclaw student Sai asked Sasuke at one point when Naruto wasn't present. 'Mine is fairly large. You'd be better off with me.'

Sasuke had shaken his head at once. 'No.'

Sai had smiled at him all the same. 'Okay. But if you need a quickie, you know where to find me.'

_Hopefully far, far away from me_, Sasuke had thought darkly.

But the questions and gossip didn't stop there. Anyone who wasn't involved decided to make it their business, much to the new couple's chagrin.

'Don't these people have anything better to do than gossip?' Naruto asked Sasuke in annoyance as they headed to their Charms class together. 'We've barely been going out two days and they're already all over us!'

Sasuke smirked. _Going out two days_. It seemed so natural, hearing it from Naruto. He smirked again as he remembered that fateful day two days back. Asking out Naruto had to be the best decision he'd ever made.

_Sasuke felt elated. Naruto had said yes! He'd go out with him! He hadn't exactly expected a _no_, but it still felt good. Sasuke allowed himself a small smile._

'_Sasuke,' Naruto said, still in his sitting position against the headboard on the bed, 'let's go on a date right now.'_

_Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at him, unconsciously tilting his head in question as he stared at Naruto from his place on the edge of the mattress. 'Right now?'_

'_Yeah!' Naruto said, his baby blues sparkling excitedly. 'We still have some time. We can go down to Hogsmeade again!'_

_Sasuke rolled his eyes. 'Do you really feel up to it? You just passed out drunk barely an hour ago.'_

_Naruto frowned. Sasuke was right. He _didn't _feel up to getting up and going all the way back down to the village. He'd probably collapse at the portrait hole. 'But what else can we do?' he wondered out loud._

'_Why not wait till you feel better, and then I'll take you out on a proper date?' Sasuke suggested. He didn't say it, but he was ridiculously happy that Naruto wanted to go on a date so badly. 'I'm in no particular hurry.'_

_Naruto's cheeks blushed a light pink. 'But…,' Naruto said in a small voice. 'I want to do _something _now.'_

_Sasuke smirked as he considered the many implications of that statement. Then he twisted around and crawled up the bed till he was next to Naruto, his weight making the mattress dip, and holding his gaze as the blonde watched in innocent befuddlement. He straddled the blonde's hips and gazed down at him. 'Oh, well if that's all, then…' _

_And suddenly his mouth was on Naruto's, gentle but firm, trailing soft fire from one corner of the blonde's mouth to his chin, down to his neck, and then back to his lips again with even more explicit pressure. His slim body pressed into Naruto's as his hands worked themselves stroking the sides of his body. Naruto moaned and responded with equal fervor, his hands travelling up the dark blue shirt and coming up and threading through Sasuke's dark locks, and trying to keep his hips from bucking as their groins pressed together._

_Sasuke coaxed Naruto's lips open and Naruto willingly complied, allowing him to slip his tongue into the moist, hot cavern. While their tongues busied themselves, one of Sasuke's hands moved down the lithe body he was on top of and caressed the growing bulge in the blonde's pants._

_Naruto threw all sense of propriety out the window. He thrust into Sasuke's hand, keeping his iron-clad grip on the brunette's hair and kissing even more fervently than before. Sasuke reluctantly lifted his head and moved his hand away, and then instantly wished he'd looked anywhere but at the blonde._

_Naruto's eyes were half-lidded and clouded with lust as he gazed dazedly at Sasuke, panting softly. A string of saliva connected their lips, and his hands were still entangled in Sasuke's hair. Part of his shirt had ridden up, revealing smooth, tan skin that was just begging to be ravished, while a noticeable bulge was evident in his nether-regions._

'_We can't take this any further right now,' Sasuke said, slowly and hoarsely, using all his willpower to refrain from claiming Naruto's lips again, and focusing on forming coherent words. 'It's not fair to either of us.'_

'_I'm not complaining,' Naruto whispered, pushing a stray lock from Sasuke's face. 'Are you saying I can't kiss you?'_

'_Dobe.' Sasuke let his head fall forward and rest in the crook of Naruto's neck. He inhaled Naruto's scent. 'Don't be stupid. I'd go crazy if I couldn't kiss you after _that_.' Sasuke's lips curved into a small smile as he heard Naruto chuckle. 'I'm saying I'm not ready for…you know, sex. Yet.'_

'_Bastard,' Naruto said softly, staring at the canopy above the bed and bringing a hand up to run through Sasuke's hair. 'You practically molested me that one time, remember? What's with all the morals all of a sudden?'_

'_If I'm doing anything,' Sasuke replied, his voice slightly muffled against Naruto's neck, 'I'm going to be _making love _to you. I'm not a one-night stand, Naruto.'_

_Naruto sighed, secretly loving the tender words. 'Fine. Can I kiss you now?'_

'Oi! Sasuke, you're dreaming!' Naruto waved a hand impatiently in front of Sasuke's face, trying to get him to pay attention to him.

Sasuke suddenly leaned forward and pecked Naruto's lips. 'No, I'm not.'

Naruto blushed. '_Sasuke_,' he hissed in annoyance, '_not in public_!'

Sasuke shrugged. 'Oops.'

Naruto rolled his eyes.

'A not-so-secret lover's tryst in progress, I see,' said a familiarly monotone voice. 'Don't make me give you a detention, children.'

Naruto's cheeks reddened even further as he turned around to face Sasuke's older brother. 'Itachi,' he said. 'You heard?'

'That you are currently my little brother's favorite cock-sucker?' Itachi said blandly, raising an eyebrow. 'Just this morning, in fact. From Professor Kakashi, the Arithmancy Professor, of all people.'

Naruto sputtered in indignation at Itachi's uncomplimentary term for him. 'You're incorrigible,' he informed him hotly.

'I see you're learning bigger words, Blondie,' Itachi returned, his gaze shifting to meet that of his brother's. 'I can't say I don't approve of your choice, little brother.'

'Brilliant,' Sasuke replied, slipping an arm around Naruto. 'Glad to get that over with. Come on, Dobe. We'll be late for class.'

He guided Naruto away from Itachi, his hand applying pressure to the small of his back. Naruto followed with little protest, eager to escape the oldest Uchiha.

When they were out of hearing range, Itachi allowed what resembled a genuinely pleased smile to grace his features.

'Good work little brother.'

* * *

'Allow me to be the first to congratulate you in your new-found affections for each other,' Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington said, bowing with a flourish of his hat. 'I must say that I am beyond pleased.'

'Thanks, Nick,' Naruto said, white teeth flashing as he grinned somewhat half-heartedly at the ghost. Nearly-Headless Nick had found them sitting, eating dinner in the Great Hall with their friends. Naruto was beginning to feel like he'd gotten married with the way everyone was treating them. They hadn't even gone on a date yet, for pity's sake.

'You're not the first,' Sasuke muttered darkly to the ghost. He had good reason to be scowling. Now that people had ascertained that the blonde was dating him, their interest in him seemed to have increased tenfold. Naruto had been approached with more proclamations of love than Sasuke had received in a month, from both males _and _females. And they'd had the gall to do it in Sasuke's presence, much to Naruto's amusement.

'I can't believe this happened, right under my nose,' Kiba said, shaking his head in disbelief. 'Who would have seen it coming?'

Hinata spared her boyfriend a faintly pitying glance for his obvious lack of observational skills, and then regarded the blonde and brunette opposite the table from her, letting her gaze linger pointedly on Naruto. 'I had a feeling.'

A high-pitched, shrill squeal interrupted them as a pink blur hurtled out of thin air and collided into both Naruto and Sasuke. A moment's observation revealed it to be none other than Sakura Haruno.

'Oh my GOD!' she shrieked happily. 'You guys look so good together! I'm so thrilled for you both!'

Naruto regarded her with the same wariness one would with a tiger that had just lost its mate. He hadn't seen Sakura much lately, save for a few glimpses at the table. She generally sat and argued with Ino Yamanaka at the Hufflepuff table, and was seldom seen nearby at meals. He'd thought though, in a passing consideration, that Sakura would be one of the many fan girls he and Sasuke seemed to have acquired at Hogwarts that were disgruntled at their newly-revealed sexual preferences.

Apparently not.

'Naruto.' A voice cut through Sakura's squeal, and Naruto looked up to find Hinata's cousin, Neji, standing behind Sasuke.

'Hey, Neji,' Naruto greeted amiably, missing Sasuke's sudden scowl.

Neji leaned down and whispered in Naruto's ear so that no one else could overhear them. 'Gaara asked me to tell you the password to the prefect's bathroom.'

Naruto looked at him in surprise. 'Why?'

Neji shrugged. 'He seems to think you and Sasuke will enjoy the privacy as much as he and I did.'

Naruto started blushed furiously as he understood what Neji's meaning was. 'No, you've got it wro-'

'Neji,' interrupted Sasuke coldly, 'I'd appreciate it if you stopped making my dobe blush.'

Naruto's ears turned pink at the note of possessiveness Sasuke seemed to have developed in areas concerning him.

Neji straightened up. 'Of course. Sasuke, am I right in believing you're jealous?'

Sasuke slipped a protective arm around Naruto's shoulders. 'Perhaps.'

Ignoring Sakura's renewed squeals about the cuteness of it all, Neji continued, 'You've no need to worry. I have no interest in Naruto whatsoever.'

Naruto stared determinedly at his food. This was beyond embarrassing.

Neji started to walk away. 'Oh, and Naruto,' he called over his shoulder, pausing. He sent a meaningful glance in his direction. 'It's _Salamander_.'

As soon as Neji was gone, Sasuke turned to glare at Naruto. '_What_ is Salamander?'

'Nothing,' Naruto muttered.

Sasuke assessed him with another stare, but let the subject drop. He had a feeling he'd find out eventually.

* * *

Theirs was a whirlwind romance. When Sasuke wasn't making out with Naruto in random places that caught his fancy, he was walking around with an arm slung possessively over the blonde's shoulder. For once in his life, he didn't give a damn about the famed Uchiha unbreakable bubble of personal space. When he was with Naruto, he was _happy._

But he wasn't _always _with Naruto. Clashes in their respective timetables forced them to keep apart for some hours. And then there was the fact that whenever he was particularly light-headed after a torrid kissing affair with Naruto in the warmth of the common room, his dobe would suddenly mutter an excuse to use the toilet and leave.

It was happening with increasing regularity. Whenever Sasuke confronted Naruto about this unusual primitive urge of his, Naruto would blush and tell him off for asking after what he thought was a personal matter.

'After all, I don't like telling you about my _pee-schedule_,' Naruto had said, looking away.

Sasuke wasn't convinced. There was something in the way Naruto blushed. Like he was doing something he _knew _was wrong. But what? What was it that had Naruto so flustered?

A few days before most of the school was leaving for the Christmas holidays, something happened that revealed exactly what was going on.

Naruto and Sasuke sat at their usual spot at the Gryffindor table, Naruto enthusiastically reading Jiraiya's latest letter, and Sasuke grumpily remembering that he had Quidditch practice later that day. It was a Sunday, so there were no classes. A squeal suddenly erupted from one corner of the table.

'What was that?' Naruto asked in shock, trying to look around several heads of students that blocked the end of the table.

Sasuke appeared slightly surprised, glancing down the table as well. 'No idea.'

'I think it's Ino and some other girls,' Kiba said, squinting down the table. 'They're looking at something that Sakura's holding.'

There were sudden, abrupt shrieks of delight as the people around Sakura got a good look at what she was staring at.

'Maybe she got a rabbit?' Naruto guessed, noticing that most of the screamers were female.

Kiba leaned over Hinata to get a better look. 'No, I think it's a piece of parchment. A poem?' he added thoughtfully. 'Girls love poems.'

Gaara walked up to the group from Sakura's end, hands in the pockets of his robes and grinning as he casually neared them. 'Naruto's been naughty,' he said, pleased.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. 'What the hell does that mean?'

Naruto felt his insides run cold at the implications Gaara had meant and decided he wasn't waiting around to find out and leapt off the bench. He sprinted down to Sakura, and then let out a cry of shock. 'No! Give them back!'

Sasuke was up on his feet in seconds. 'What the hell?' He strode in large steps to his blonde and looked at what everyone was staring at.

Pictures.

Moving pictures.

Moving pictures of Naruto.

Shit.

'_Accio photos!_' Sasuke said calmly. The photographs zoomed into Sasuke's outstretched hands. Without glancing down at them, he grabbed Naruto's hand. 'Come on, Dobe,' he said, his voice cold fire. 'Let's go.'

Naruto stared down at his shoes and let Sasuke lead him away from the Great Hall, up a few staircases, down a few corridors, and into the empty Gryffindor common room.

'It's not what you think,' he said in a small voice, staring at the dying embers from last night's fire and settling into a big squashy armchair.

Sasuke threw the photos onto the carpet so that they fanned out for the world to see. Pictures of Naruto laughing, pouting, reading, sleeping...but worst of all, in a fancy bathtub that looked similar to the one he'd once seen in the prefect's bathroom, clearly in the midst of a climax. The pictures of the bathtub were taken from the side, so no private parts of the blonde's anatomy could be seen. Sasuke regarded Naruto. 'No?'

Naruto shook his head, his face engulfed in embarrassed flames. 'I wasn't…I wasn't having sex with anyone.'

Sasuke knew that. He wasn't so stupid as to believe for even a second that Naruto would have gone behind his back and fucked someone. In the tub of all places. It was clear that Naruto was masturbating. In the Prefect's bathroom, no less. Sasuke had been there only once in his entire life. 'I know. I want to know who took the pictures,' he said in a tightly controlled tone, voicing the real reason for his displeasure.

Naruto blinked. 'Oh. I don't know about that.'

Sasuke began to leave. 'Then I'll find out and murder whoever it is.'

Naruto sighed. He'd had a feeling Sasuke might say that.

_Possessive bastard_, he thought lovingly.

* * *

It took Sasuke a while to find out who it was. He started by asking Sakura who had given her the pictures, and she said that she had bought them from an anonymous source.

'Do you have any idea who it might have been?' Sasuke asked her.

'Oh, plenty of people,' she said, eager to help him. 'It could be the Head Boy, Shikamaru...but he wouldn't do something like that; and then there's his best friend, Chouji...but Chouji's crazy about Ino, so it can't be him; maybe Ino? No, but she wouldn't do something like this without telling me; maybe that guy, Sai? Well, it could be; Lee Rock-'

'Sai?' Sasuke asked, all ears.

'Well, he's a pretty good photographer, but he's always smiling and is always saying nice stuff, so I don't think he'd-'

When Itachi found his brother, it was in an empty corridor five minutes before his Defense Against the Dark Arts class was about to begin, and he was punching another student's face well beyond recognition.

'Go near Naruto again and I swear to God, I'll cut off your balls and stuff them down your fucking throat,' Sasuke snarled, pausing long enough to yank Sai's collar forward.

Sai spat blood out onto the floor as he stared at Sasuke. A fake smile was plastered on his face. 'You're obviously not giving him what he wants. You can't blame me if I try to…_satisfy _him.'

Itachi very nearly groaned. Wrong thing to say.

With a cry of rage, Sasuke launched into a fresh wave of powerful blows to Sai's head. Itachi waved his wand, and with a sudden force the two flew in opposite directions and crashed into a wall.

'As touching as it is to see you defend your property with so much vigor, little brother,' Itachi stated, 'I'm going to have to give you detention. You too, kid,' he added as Sai groaned and tried to sit up.

Sasuke rose to his feet, panting. 'Fine,' he said, grabbing his bag and walking away, not sparing another glance in Sai's direction and pushing past Itachi. Itachi stopped him and spoke in a low voice. 'Next time, little brother,' he said, so low that Sai couldn't even attempt to hear, 'you might want to try a proper wizard's duel. I know the circumstances were difficult,' he said swiftly as Sasuke opened his mouth to interrupt, 'but I assure you, magic can cause far more pain. But don't fight in front of me, I'd have to stop you.'

Sasuke nodded and shoved Itachi's arm off, and then walked away.

Sai tried to get up as well, gingerly trying to avoid causing himself more pain. He glanced at Itachi with the eye that wasn't swollen when the DADA professor cleared his throat. Even in his sorry state, he attempted a smile, although it looked more like a grimace. 'Yes?'

'I make it a point not to get involved in my brother's personal issues,' Itachi said pleasantly. 'But stray near Naruto again, and I'm afraid you'll be getting a lot more than detention.'

With that he turned on his heel and walked away, leaving a bloody and bruised Sai behind.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto had decided to stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays. Jiraiya had written to say that he'd be abroad during Christmas, and so couldn't have Naruto back, as much as he'd love to. Sasuke stayed behind because Naruto was, and because Itachi would be leaving for their mansion to spend time with his longtime boyfriend, Deidara.

'He's actually quite similar to you,' Itachi told Naruto one day. 'You two would get along splendidly.'

On the 24th of December, the entire school was empty, except for a handful of students that included two Gryffindors, a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff. Professor Tsunade and Shizune had also stayed behind to supervise the school.

'Sasuke, let's go build a snowman,' Naruto suddenly said, looking away from the window he was staring out of. They were in the Gryffindor dormitories, and Naruto had been idly staring at the soft white snow that blanketed the entire expanse of Hogwarts grounds. He looked at Sasuke, who had been doing the last of his holiday homework.

'Okay,' Sasuke agreed, rolling up the parchment he had been working on. 'I'm done.'

Naruto grinned. 'Brilliant.'

They pulled on anything they could to keep warm, not caring how they looked. No one would be around to see them, anyway. Five minutes later, they were stumbling around in the snow and trying to build a snowman that resembled Professor Tsuande. When they were done, they stepped back and admired their work.

The snowman – or snow-woman, as the case was – was terribly done. It was already dark, maybe around 6 o'clock, and the effect of the shadows on the snowman seemed to make it less awful that it really was. They had tried to be creative, and so had added two large clumps of snow onto its chest, representing Professor Tsunade's impressive bosom. It was the only thing that made it different from any other snowman.

'I vote we don't tell her who it's supposed to be if she asks,' Naruto said laughingly and collapsing on his back into the snow.

'I second that,' Sasuke chuckled, lying down next to him.

Naruto stared at the sky, his expression turning contemplative. 'Hey, Sasuke?' he said, turning over onto his side so that he faced his boyfriend.

'Hm?' Sasuke leaned onto his side so that he was facing Naruto as well.

'Are you mad at me for…you know.' Naruto blushed, his troubled gaze fixing on a point in the snow below Sasuke's cheek. 'That thing…I was jacking off in the pictures.'

Sasuke regarded Naruto quietly. 'No.' And he wasn't. He knew his refusal to have sex with the dobe was probably hard. And he too usually had a tough time resisting Naruto himself.

'Oh, good,' Naruto said, relieved. He glanced at Sasuke's face and was surprised at the level of raw intensity he saw in the stare Sasuke looked at him with. 'What?'

Sasuke shifted in the snow, leaning toward Naruto until their noses were touching and they each could feel the other's breath on their faces. 'What were you thinking of when you were doing that, Naruto?' he asked in a husky voice.

'You,' Naruto said softly.

'Really?' Sasuke allowed himself a slight chuckle, his breath ghosting over Naruto's face. 'Hm. I find that kind of…sexy. Was that what you did after I was done ravishing your mouth every night?'

Naruto nodded jerkily, his eyes never leaving Sasuke's lips.

Sasuke rolled over and straddled Naruto's hips, his face hovering above the blonde's. He leaned forward and kissed him, long and hard, his hips grinding into Naruto's. He broke the kiss and stared at his blonde. 'I'm ready to make love to you, Dobe. Now.'

Naruto panted. He felt cold as he lay in the snow, and yet his body was hot as Sasuke sat on top of him. It was driving his crazy, the way his boyfriend's manhood was pressing against the bulge in his pants. 'Yes,' he whispered, clutching fistfuls of Sasuke's shirt. 'Yes.'

* * *

The two stumbled into their dormitory, kissing fervently. Their heavy winter clothes had already been shed down in to the common room, leaving them clad in only jeans and a shirt.

Naruto pushed Sasuke down onto his own four-poster bed so that the raven was on his back and then straddled his hips. He leaned down and planted soft, sultry kisses on the corner of Sasuke's mouth, and then continued his way down Sasuke's jaw, the underside of his chin, and down to his neck.

'Naruto, too many clothes,' Sasuke said, tugging in vain at Naruto's shirt as he tried to keep his breathing even. The blonde was making that hard with his nips and licks. 'Take it off.'

Naruto discarded his shirt at once, and then proceeded to help Sasuke take off his. With their upper torsos bared to each other, they continued. Naruto tongue marked a trail down Sasuke's body, pausing at the button to his jeans. After kissing him gently on his belly button, he made his way back up, this time focusing on Sasuke's perk, brown nipples.

He licked and rolled the left nipple around with his mouth, loving the mewls of pleasure that involuntarily escaped Sasuke. Sasuke writhed under him, gripping his hair almost painfully as his body arched in bliss. His right hand came up to fondle Sasuke's other nipple, letting his fingers skim the edge. While he kept the brown buds occupied, his left hand slid down Sasuke's body and undid the jeans. His right hand stopped its attentions for a second while he pulled the jeans along with Sasuke's boxers down, releasing the raging hard-on that Sasuke had been sporting.

'Get your pants off, Dobe,' Sasuke hissed, clumsily fumbling with the button to Naruto's jeans.

Naruto undid them and discarded them in a pile on the floor, then resumed his activities.

They were now both completely nude. Naruto couldn't help but lean down and give Sasuke's cock and experimental lick.

Sasuke bucked his hips at once, trying to get more of Naruto's mouth to cover his raging manhood. Naruto smirked and obliged. Holding down the raven's hips, he engulfed Sasuke's entire cock and bobbed his head up and down the length, humming with pleasure. Sasuke cried out and tried to thrust into his mouth, but Naruto's hands were holding his hips down.

Cold air hit Sasuke's member as Naruto lifted his head away. Sasuke hissed. 'What the hell?'

'Wait, Teme,' Naruto hushed. '_Accio lube!' _A tube of lubricant flew out from underneath one of the beds in the dorm and into Naruto's hands. A small corner of his mind registered that the tube had been whisked out from under Kiba's bed as he popped open the cap and squeezed liberal amounts onto his palm. He slicked up Sasuke's cock, causing the raven to arch into his touch, moaning. When he was done, his mouth descended onto the hardened length once more and resumed its sucking. The lube was strawberry flavored, and Naruto licked enthusiastically as the taste mixed with that of Sasuke.

'Naruto,' Sasuke suddenly panted, his hands gripping the bed sheets tightly as he tried to hold back, 'I'm coming.'

Naruto gave the underside of Sasuke's cock a long lick. 'Come for me, baby,' he murmured, licking the tip of Sasuke's weeping cock. 'I can take it. Come on.'

He suddenly sucked hard on the head of the pale boy's cock, and with a scream of pleasure Sasuke released into Naruto's mouth. Naruto tried to swallow as much of the white substance as he could. When he was done, he looked up at Sasuke. 'That was hot.'

Sasuke nodded jerkily, not trusting himself to speak as he panted.

'I want to feel you inside me,' Naruto whispered, cupping Sasuke's face in the palm of his hand. 'I want to feel you pushing into me, hard and fast-'

Sasuke groaned at the erotic words and closed his eyes, hardening once more as he imagined it. He heard a low moan and his eyes snapped open.

Naruto was fingering himself, trying to stretch himself to accommodate Sasuke. Sasuke hardened to raging full-on as he watched Naruto stick a second and third finger in and scissor himself.

'My God,' he breathed, taking in the lustful scene. 'You're so beautiful.'

Naruto smiled as he took out his fingers and shifted so that his entrance was positioned directly above Sasuke's hardened length. 'Ready, Teme?'

'Hurry,' he said hoarsely.

Naruto slammed down onto Sasuke's cock, letting out a mixed gasp of pleasure and pain. Sasuke cried out as he felt Naruto's heat engulfing him, using all his willpower to remain still for Naruto's sake. Naruto took deep, steadying breaths as he let himself adjust to Sasuke's size.

'You okay, Dobe?' Sasuke asked tenderly, his voice husky with restraint.

Naruto bit his lip and nodded. When he was ready, he raised himself again, his muscles clenching around Sasuke's arousal, strangled moans escaping him as the friction between them sent shivers of pleasure racing up his spine. When he slid down again, Sasuke cried out in ecstasy.

'Naruto…my god, so tight,' he said, raising his hips to meet Naruto fully. He matched his thrusts to the rhythm of Naruto, both moving faster and harder as they neared their climax. Sasuke suddenly grabbed Naruto's length and began pumping him in time to his thrusts. With a blinding white explosion beneath their eyes, they came, screaming each other's names.

Naruto slumped forward onto Sasuke's chest, exhausted. Sasuke stroked his blonde hair, his fingers threading through the light locks. Carefully, he shifted Naruto off of him, sliding his cock out of him in the process.

'Mm,' Naruto mumbled, snuggling into Sasuke's arms contentedly. 'I love you so much, Sasuke.'

Sasuke inhaled Naruto's scent deeply, continuing to caress his hair. When he was certain the blonde was asleep, he replied.

'I love you too.'

* * *

**A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! **

**Okay, so it's Christmas Eve over here. This is my Christmas gift to you guys. I've been promising it for a while, so here it is. It's my very first full-fledged lemon! So be a bit gentle, k? This chapter is the longest by far. **

**I didn't want to drag them through Halloween, as nothing much would have happened anyway. So I just skipped to Christmas, when they could get down and dirty. *wink***

**I've got exams at the beginning of January, so I'll have to keep off fanfics for a few weeks. I seem to be taking a lot of breaks from writing lately, don't I? *sigh* Ah well, tis not my fault.**

**Special thanks to** **FumetsuKaji for the idea on the photos of dear Naru.**

**Review!**


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